Podcasting and Radio News

Script:

HOST INTRO: The Bronx night market, where vendors from different boroughs and cultures come to display and sell their food, has become a popular event. The event is held every Saturday, from May until the last Saturday of October. With over 50 vendors and over 80,000 people expected by the time the event is over on October 26. It has become something the community and vendors look forward to. Christian spoke with one of the vendors from the market.

AMBI: People talking and music playing.

TRACK 1: The delightful look as people try their food and the smiles as people talk and enjoy the music.  Along with the sizzling sound of food being grilled fills Fordham plaza where the Bronx night market is taking place. I go to talk to Rafael Quinones, who co-owns Revelations Catering alongside his wife. And has worked under other chefs before starting his own catering company. This is also the first time ever displaying his food in the Bronx Night Market. Here’s what it’s done to help his business.

Chef Quinones: It’s brought us a lot of exposure to our food for the customer. And the customer standpoint it got us a lot of. we received more requests than anything else.

TRACK 2: People attending The Bronx Night Market for the first time like Maria. Were treated to food they have never tasted before. One of those foods was the chimichurri burger, which is a popular food in Dominican Republic she has never tasted it before and once she did. It became one of her favorite foods she has tried there. She also described her experience attending the Bronx night market for the first time.

Maria: I seen food from different parts of the world and how it’s made. The Bronx night market inspires you to learn and try different cultural food, and it brings people together.

TRACK 3:  The process of being able to participate in the Bronx night Market isn’t difficult. All you need is an application, an email and to be persistent in showing how serious you are about getting that chance to be able to participate. Why he choose the Bronx night market is most likely why some other vendors did as well.

Chef Quinones: we’re a Bronx based business, and we wanna showcase what the Bronx has to offer you know. The Bronx has a lot of untapped business that people don’t know about. And the only way they can do it is through the Bronx night market. And through social media, but the Bronx night market is a very good outlet to showcase what you have and where you come from.

TRACK 4:  Some of the food Revelations catering sells includes rice bowls. Chipotle chicken Carne asada Korean Short Rib and Seasonal roasted vegetable also a Thai burger and their most popular item on the menu their loaded fries, which is made of French fries mixed with carne asada and any vegetable topping of your choosing. All mixed in one dish. Nothing is off-limits for chef Quinones. On top of that he told me something he is currently trying in the Bronx night market.

Chef Quinones:  No I. I gotten exposed throughout the years, a lot of different foods Asian, Indian, American, Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese you name it.  Primarily right now what I’m doing is I’m mixing both my Latin roots with the Asian cuisine.

TRACK 5:  Since spring 2017, the Bronx night market has been a key event for different chefs around New York City to display their food and culture to people.  It also helps that they’re so close to Fordham University.  But probably the biggest reason why some chefs like chef quinones participate in the Bronx night market is to lay the groundwork for bigger things.

Chef Quinones: So our hope is to open our own little… our own restaurant we don’t wanna start off big we wanna grow little by little. We don’t wanna.. We wanna crawl before we run you know what I mean. We wanna make sure everything is on point you know. That our hope is to open our own restaurant.

TRACK 6: For more information about the Bronx night market or revelations catering you can follow their social media. For Baruch College, this is Christian Nazario in the Bronx.

Script of Just a Small Taste of Uptown

HOST INTRO: Washington Heights is a neighborhood in the northern portion of New York City and a predominately Hispanic neighborhood. Starting October 7th until October 17th, 40 restaurants will be participating in Uptown Restaurant Week hosted by Washington Heights Business Improvement District. Giselle Medina went to Washington Heights to investigate. 

AMBI: Street sounds of 181st – can hear some buses, cars, and people singing 

TRACK: This is Giselle Medina and I am walking on 181st Street. There are multiple vendors trying to sell fruit and Spanish music is coming from just about everywhere. Washington Heights is a pretty bustling neighborhood with buses constantly driving by, but that’s not all, they also have a large Restaurant and Lounge industry. The Washington Heights Business Improvement District also known as the BID is hosting their very first Uptown Restaurant Week, starting on October 7th. 

AMBI: Yuby picks up the phone, “Good Afternoon this is Yuby at the Washington Heights BID” 

TRACK: Yuby Hernandez is the program manager at the BID. She wants Washington Heights to be seen in a different light and show off how vibrant of a community it is as well as what it has to offer. 

ACT [YUBY HERNANDEZ]: A lot of our restaurants people don’t think about them as being ”high quality” or being really exciting by offering restaurant week we hope to get people to come in and really think about “Oh this restaurant is actually really great” “Oh this is really, they have really great services, it’s a really great experience” “ Oh yea I do love this neighborhood.” 

TRACK: The BID did a study of all the industries in Washington Heights and Inwood where they noticed that the biggest industry is the Restaurant and Lounge industry. 

ACT [HERNANDEZ]: We had a brainstorming meeting and we came up with a list of around 60 restaurants that we wanted to invite and so a lot of the list started with of course the 22 that participated in the Taste of Uptown.

TRACK: Taste of Uptown was a free food festival that took place this past June. 22 restaurants participated at the festival that had over 500 people attend including all of the local elected officials.

ACT [HERNANDEZ]: That was a really great celebration of what the community is and then so this way is a great way to engage Restaurant Week to have those people who participated in that event to continue to taste our restaurants, to continue to have opportunities for them to do things with their families so it’s just a fun way to get people to reinvest in their community and to you know try something new.

TRACK: After coming up with their list of restaurants, the BID went tried to recruit them; however, not all of them could participate. 

ACT [HERNANDEZ]: Some restaurants couldn’t participate because their offerings are less, a couple other restaurants said they weren’t interested they said “oh that’s our busy season, we can’t offer discounts because that’s when we make all of our money”

TRACK: Not all the participants are restaurants, there are few cafes that are doing their own spin on Uptown Restaurant Week to show that not everything has to be a “sit down dinner”.

ACT [HERNANDEZ]: Bizcocho De Colores, they are a cake supply store and bakery and they also are doing specials for the week of Restaurant Week and they are going to offer discounts on their cakes, discounts on their coffee, and desserts and things like that.

AMBI: Atmosphere of Bizcocho De Colores

TRACK: Stacey Lebron is the manager of the family-owned cake supply store, Bizcocho De Colores, and hopes that by being a part of Uptown Restaurant Week they can become more known and gain more clients.

ACT [STACEY LEBRON]: So every order over $100 receives 12 free cupcakes or a tres leche and we just like to support anything that’s related to the community really like uptown and for people to just taste our tres leche and cupcakes and for them to know that we offer other things besides cakes. 

TRACK: Uptown Restaurant Week is one of the ways the BID is promoting the community. 

ACT [HERNANDEZ]: And so the BID is collaborating with Small Business Services and with the Inwood Merchant Association because Inwood has a ton of different businesses that are not just restaurants and so they are all helping us promote the series of events because you know it’s not one day through by putting up posters, by giving out postcards, and it’s really a community event people are excited for it people want to engage and so we think that we are going to be really successful. 

AMBI: Street sounds of 181st – can hear some buses, cars, and people singing

TRACK: Washington Heights is a very lively community which Yuby Hernandez wants to showcase during this week. She wants to change the reputation of the neighborhood and knows that this event will help do just that. For Baruch College, this Giselle Medina in Washington Heights, New York.

 

Just a Small Taste of Uptown

By Giselle Medina

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NEW YORK – The Washington Heights Business Improvement District also known as the BID is hosting their very first Uptown Restaurant Week, starting from October 7th until October 17th, around 40 restaurants will be participating.

A predominately Hispanic neighborhood, Washington Heights is located in the northern portion of New York City. It is a bustling neighborhood with buses constantly driving by as well as multiple vendors trying to sell fruit and Spanish music is coming from just about everywhere. Washington Heights also has a large Restaurant and Lounge industry. 

Yuby Hernandez is the program manager at the BID. She wants Washington Heights to be seen in a different light and show off how vibrant of a community it is as well as what it has to offer. She says, “A lot of our restaurants people don’t think about them as being ”high quality” or being really exciting by offering restaurant week we hope to get people to come in and really think about “Oh this restaurant is actually really great” “Oh this is really, they have really great services, it’s a really great experience” “ Oh yea I do love this neighborhood.”” 

The BID did a study of all the industries in Washington Heights and Inwood where they noticed that the biggest industry is the Restaurant and Lounge industry. Uptown Restaurant Week is not the first time the BID has promoted this industry. 

Taste of Uptown was a free food festival that took place this past June. Twenty-two restaurants participated at the festival that had over 500 people attend including all of the local elected officials. “That was a really great celebration of what the community is and then so this way is a great way to engage Restaurant Week to have those people who participated in that event to continue to taste our restaurants, to continue to have opportunities for them to do things with their families so it’s just a fun way to get people to reinvest in their community and to you know try something new,” says Hernandez. 

After coming up with their list of restaurants, the BID went and tried to recruit them; however, not all of them could participate. Hernandez says, “Some restaurants couldn’t participate because their offerings are less, a couple other restaurants said they weren’t interested they said “oh that’s our busy season, we can’t offer discounts because that’s when we make all of our money.””

Not all the participants are restaurants, there are few cafes that are doing their own spin on Uptown Restaurant Week to show that not everything has to be a “sit down dinner.” One example is Bizcocho De Colores, a cake supply store and bakery that will be offering specials throughout the week. “So every order over $100 receives 12 free cupcakes or a tres leche. We just like to support anything that’s related to the community really like uptown and for people to just taste our tres leche and cupcakes and for them to know that we offer other things besides cakes,” says Stacey Lebron, the manager of the family-owned cake supply store.

Uptown Restaurant Week is one of the ways the BID is promoting the community. Hernandez says, “The BID is collaborating with Small Business Services and with the Inwood Merchant Association because Inwood has a ton of different businesses that are not just restaurants and so they are all helping us promote the series of events because you know it’s not one day through by putting up posters, by giving out postcards, and it’s really a community event people are excited for it people want to engage and so we think that we are going to be really successful.”

Washington Heights is a very lively community that Yuby Hernandez wants to showcase during this week. She wants to change the reputation of the neighborhood and knows that this event will help do just that.

ANCHOR INTRO:
A VICTORY FOR THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.
THE SUPREME COURT GIVING THE WHITE HOUSE A GREEN LIGHT TO ENFORCE A NEW NATIONWIDE ASYLUM POLICY.
IT’S A DECISION THAT COULD DRASTICALLY AFFECT IMMIGRATION FROM CENTRAL AMERICA.
OUR CORRESPONDENT FRANKLIN MORALES TELLS US MORE ABOUT THE CHANGE AND SPEAKS TO FRESHMEN CONGRESSWOMAN, ILHAN OMAR, ON THE ISSUE.

TRACK:
THE SUPREME COURT’S DECISION TO OVERRULE A LOWER COURT BLOCK ON THE NEW POLICY REVERSES DECADES OF U-S POLICY.
UNDER THE NEW RULE, THE GOVERNMENT WILL PROVIDE ASYLUM ONLY TO IMMIGRANTS WHO HAVE BEEN DENIED ASYLUM IN OTHER COUNTRIES THEY HAVE PASSED THROUGH FIRST.
THIS WILL MOSTLY AFFECT CENTRAL AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS WHO HAVE TO PASS THROUGH MEXICO TO REACH OUR SOUTHERN BORDERS.
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSWOMAN ILHAN OMAR FROM MINNESOTA, KNOWN FOR BEING CRITICAL OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, IS CONDEMNING THE MOVE.

ACT:
OMAR says: “I- I believe that decision is morally and legally wrong. Seeking asylum is a legal right that people have and we know that the Supreme Court has been wrong before.”

TRACK:
OMAR IS JUST ONE OF MANY DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS MEMBERS CRITICIZING THE SUPREME COURT DECISION.
SHE WANTS TO CREATE IMMIGRATION POLICY THAT IS HUMANE AND JUST.
MEANWHILE, THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SAYS THEY HAD TO CREATE THIS POLICY DUE TO CONGRESS NOT DOING ITS JOB AND PASSING IMMIGRATION REFORM.
OMAR DOES NOT AGREE.
SHE SAYS THE HOUSE HAS BEEN DOING ITS JOB SINCE DAY ONE.

ACT:
OMAR says: “People have to understand that the immigration crisis that we have is one that we could avoid. And many of the policies that we’ve been advocating for, many that are currently sitting at the doorsteps of Mitch McConnell, will create a positive impact on how our immigration system is carried out.”

TRACK:
OMAR’S REMARKS CAME DURING An INTERVIEW WITH MARGARET BRENNAN ON CBS’ FACE THE NATION.
FOR BARUCH COLLEGE, THIS IS FRANKLIN MORALES, IN NEW YORK.

In class today:

We’ll look at a few of your script exercises and some more examples of radio wraps.

In Québec, teachers return to school under new religious symbols ban

A small town in Italy offers houses for sale for less than an espresso

Antarctic robot might lead way to life beyond Earth

Example of a clever host intro: Scottish town wants its witch bones back

Upcoming dates:

• Scripts for your 4-5 minute radio story will be due Monday, Oct. 7; you will need to have completed your interviews and reporting by this point in order to write your scripts. We will not have class as usual that day; instead, I will be meeting with you all individually in my office to go through your scripts and give them an edit. I will send out a Google spreadsheet when it gets a little closer so you can all sign up for time slots. If none of the time slots work for you, we can schedule an edit session over the phone.
• There is no class on Wednesday, October 9 because of Yom Kippur.
• There is no class on Monday, October 14 because of Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
• Your final, edited radio story, along with accompanying photos and web version, will be due by midnight Wednesday, October 16. Class that day will be devoted to editing and production, and the recording studio will be open for anyone who needs to record their narration.

For my first podcast, I would like to interview/have an open discussion with my friends Chris and Jamie. Both Chris and Jamie are Baruch students who joined the military at a young age, and from their experience, they both acquired very different overall opinions on the military and what it means to them.

Chris was part of the U.S. Army for a little less than a year and was medically discharged due to needing intestinal surgery.  However, he is still very pro-military with strong opinions on the matter and would have wanted to continue his service.  Jamie, on the other hand, is very anti-military and he served a little over 2 years in the U.S. Navy.  Jamie is the only person I know who was successfully able to appeal his service and was able to leave the military without being discharged for misconduct or infractions.

My podcast will be a fresh new take on military life and how it changed these two guys for better or worse.  We will breakdown each of their processes into the military, from how they decided to join, Bootcamp, service, and their overall feelings when leaving the military.  Furthermore, we will discuss some major recruitment issues that the military is facing as well and what their opinion is on the topic.  Hopefully, by comparing and contrasting their experience we can understand both sides and possibly find some middle ground. From this podcast, I hope to give young people interested in joining the military a new perspective and understanding of what to expect from the experience of two people who underwent the process.

 

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2mp4PaLHObU5JLXM6iPywj?si=RpNrviBaSQarwnN_W3LagQ

“Ear Hustle,” is a podcast that talks about the daily realities of life inside prison shared by real inmates living within the prison system.  Prison life has always been a popular and interesting genre for movies and TV Shows. Some examples are the movies “The Shawshank Redemption (1994),” “Shot Caller (2017),” or TV shows like “Prison Break (2005),” and “Orange Is the New Black (2013).”  I’ve actually seen all these movies and TV shows, which were super entertaining, but the fact is that it’s made that way to keep viewers interested.  “Ear Hustle” takes away theses overly dramatizes story plots that are seen in most moves and TV shows and tells the true stories and problems that most regular inmates face while serving their time.

This podcast was co-founded by Earlonne Woods and Antwan Williams, who have partnered up with Nigel Poor.  Poor is a Bay Area visual artist who works with incarcerated men in San Quentin State Prison, she is the co-host and co-producer of “Ear Hustle.” Earlonne Woods has since been released from San Quentin State Prison after serving 21 years of his 31-years-to-life sentence for attempted second-degree robbery in 1997, he is the co-host and co-producer of “Ear Hustle.”  Antwan Williams is currently still serving a 15-year sentence for armed robbery with a gun enhancement, and he is the sound designer of “Ear Hustle”

The format of this podcast is a combination of conversation, interviews, storytelling, and education.  The co-hosts will introduce a topic that may seem pretty normal or basic to most people, but for people in prison, it’s serious. For example, in episode 1, they talk about finding the right cellmate to share your space with. Although this may seem boring, the podcast does a great job of illustrating the reality of being an inmate where your room is the size of a closet and you’re supposed to share that with a second person. Furthermore, other inmates are brought and interviewed on the show, where they are given the opportunity to share their story, experience, the reality of their situation and how their life got them there.

Many of the stories that the inmates speak of are serious and they are not acting like in the movies or TV shows. Some of these people know what it’s like to kill or physically harm someone close to death, and they have to deal with those memories every day. Although these people share a serious past filled with violence and crime, the podcast now shows them in a time where they can talk about it and how far they have come through reflection and reform. The podcast even sometimes gives the overall genre of prison life a lighter tone because even the inmates know you can’t do anything but laugh sometimes at the reality of dealing with prison life.

I believe the audience of this podcast can be those who are just coming out of prison and reforming back into society. This subject is something they know, and it can be comforting to hear that other people have gone through those experience as well.  Also, it can be for fans of the prison genre who are curious and looking for a new realistic take on what it means to go to prison without actually going to prison.  In addition, it can be for people who have family or loved ones in prison and are looking for a way to understand and connect with them more, without overstepping or overwhelming the person in prison with a thousand questions.

The podcast is called “Ear Hustle,” because just like in any community knowing the news, drama, or trends that are going on within your community is important.  In prison, this is especially important because it can help you find opportunities, regardless if they are positive or negative ones, and avoid any unwanted trouble that might find your way.

UPCOMING DATES:

***Pay close attention to this because there are a lot of holidays coming up!

• There is no class this coming Monday, Sept. 30 because of Rosh Hashanah.
  
• Scripts for your 4-5 minute radio story will be due Monday, Oct. 7; you will need to have completed your interviews and reporting by this point in order to write your scripts. We will not have class as usual that day; instead, I will be meeting with you all individually in my office to go through your scripts and give them an edit. I will send out a Google spreadsheet when it gets a little closer so you can all sign up for time slots. If none of the time slots work for you, we can schedule an edit session over the phone.
• There is no class on Wednesday, October 9 because of Yom Kippur. 
• There is no class on Monday, October 14 because of Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day. 
• Your final, edited radio story, along with accompanying photos and web version, will be due by midnight Wednesday, October 16. Class that day will be devoted to editing and production, and the recording studio will be open for anyone who needs to record their narration.

A note on recording your narrations:

Here’s where we get into the art of it all. You may be reading from a script, but you don’t want to sound like you’re reading. Good audio is conversational. Pretend you’re telling a friend about this really interesting thing that just happened to you. Speak clearly but don’t over-enunciate, either.

Trends in narration: A lot of people on the radio these days seem to be doing a straight-up imitation of Ira Glass.

NPR Voice

—

Before we move on… any other pitches need to be workshopped?

In-class script-writing exercise

Look at this transcript and accompanying video and write a script for a short radio story using clips from this Ilhan Omar interview as your sound bites. Do some additional research beyond just what it said in this interview for context. Two or three sound bites are plenty.

Remember that the template for writing a script looks like this:

HOST INTRO: (The host gives background context on the story and introduces you, the reporter. For your radio stories, I recommend asking a friend or classmate to record this part.)

AMBI: (natural sounds and room tone go here)

TRACK: (your narration goes here)

ACT: [NAME]: (transcription of soundbites goes here)

TRACK:

…and so on until you sign off, saying “For Baruch College, this is ____ in New York.”

Remember that you’re writing for the ear, which means simple sentences, conversational style, and lots of description. Be careful to write into and out of the sound bites in a way that clearly introduces the speaker and sets up what they’re going to say.

Your soundbites (or actualities, also known as “ACTS” in the script) should be no longer than about 20 seconds each.

When deciding what to put into the narration vs. what sound bites to include, think about it this way:

Exposition/Description vs. Color/Emotion/Opinion.

The role of the host intro is to tell the listeners what they’re about to hear and why it matters, before throwing it to you, the reporter.

Exposition/Description. Your narration is there to give all the who/what/where/when/why info and to guide the listener through the story so they’re never confused as to who is speaking, where you are, and what’s happening—and to do all this as efficiently, clearly, and engagingly as possible.

Color/Emotion/Opinion. In most cases, if there’s a sound bite that’s full of dry facts and figures, it is best to include that information by paraphrasing it and writing it into the narration. The quotes we want to hear from people are ALIVE, full of humor, sass, sadness, insight, and opinion.

If you’re not finished writing the script by the end of class, that’s okay: just make sure you email it to me by Wednesday’s class so we can look at them together and practice recording narration and editing.

IMPORTANT: Two final reminders. Since you should all be going out and starting to record sound for your radio stories this week and next week,  DON’T FORGET to record 90 seconds to two minutes of ambient sound/room tone in the location where you conducted your interview. It should become a deeply ingrained habit to wrap up the interview and say “Now if you don’t mind, I’m just going to stay here and record a couple minutes of nothing!”

And lastly, let me know if you need to check out equipment since the college will be closed on Monday!