podcasting – Page 4 – Citizen Reporter

Tony Schwartz on Audio

He walked around with a recorder in a little sidebag, recording the sounds of everything. Kids in the playground, a conversation with a taxi driver, personal life histories… the list goes on and on.? He also contacted other audio recorders in his day, people who had bought the same recorder, and would send them his audio by post… all over the world.

Tony Schwartz was a podcaster before there was internet.. before there was podcast.? He understood the value of everything, and dedicated his time and energy to capturing audio glimpses of everything around him, and sharing them with complete strangers or friends alike.

Up until a week ago, i didn’t know who Tony Schwartz was.? Now, I think of him as an audio idol, with a style and a mission that I can relate to and hope in some way to be emulating.? No I don’t record the sounds of everything, but Tony’s spirit and drive, I feel a lot of that with what I do here on this blog.

To hear about Tony Shwartz’s life and also hear his beautiful audio recordings, i recommend two podcasts this week:

1 – On the Media dedicates much of their latest program to his story. If you like what I do, I think you may love what he did.

2 – My friend Chris Lydon over at Radio Open Source, sat down with a documentary film maker who’s film Guerilla Media, is all about Tony. High recommended listening.

As for Tony Schwartz, my new audio idol, I’ll be shopping around for his work and soaking it in.? I may not have known him or known about him when he was alive, but I’ll sing his praises from now on whenever someone brings up the sounds of life.

Arrived in Berlin

A few days in Berlin, among other reasons, to spend time with my dear friends, and to attend BarCamp Berlin.. which is neither a bar nor a camp.. just a nerd convention. Naturally there will be several podcasts and vlogs coming up related to issues here in Germany and beyond… I’m especially curious to discuss the experience of a new parent in Germany, what support the government gives you and that sort of thing.

For now, I require sleep.

Some Images from Heidelberg

Arrived from VlogEurope in desperate need of sleep. So tomorrow will be back to business, today I leave you with 3 photos from Heidelberg.

Join us in Heidelberg

Some of you may recall last year’s conference in Milan, this year vlog Europe is coming a little earlier and a little closer to Amsterdam.

Heidelberg, Germany is the location, September 1st and 2nd are the dates. If you are a vlogger or someone who watches vlogs or at all interested in the practice and art of making videos for the internet, you should definitely join us.

Visit the site, add yourself to the wiki, it is less than a month away and these meetings are an exception in the world of conferences and the internet. why? Because at vlog europe we have a tradition of cutting out the bullshit, being ourselves, and maybe even learning new things. Its not about youtube, it’s about vlogging!

Burma Radio Reports

Over the past few weeks I’ve finally started sorting through programs offered by Radio Netherlands via podcast. I have long heard that the Dutch sponsored English language radio had some great programs worth listening to.

Little did I know one of my first choices to subscribe to, The State We’re In (not to be mistaken with the fine blog of my good friend Brian – TheStateImIn), is in fact hosted by a former classmate of mine – Jonathan.

Beyond being hosted my an old acquaintance, The State We’re In covers some solid issues that I would say are under reported by mainstream media. Case in point, the most recent show features a report about the terrible death and suffering going on in Burma. A place that is completely ignored by big media and much of the international community, I for one was glued to my mp3 player and thankful that someone is dedicating time and energy to reporting about it. Go give it a listen. (and for those who prefer text, there’s a text feature as well)

2 Minute Judgement

With the population of the world being as big as it is, I realize evaluating people for jobs, prizes, relationships, you-name-it; there is less time to spend on each person.

That said, I still hate it. A 1 page letter of motivation. A 2 minute audio sample. A 3 minute conversation over a drink at some party. Each of these is supposed to give someone an accurate idea of who I am, and then a judgment is to made based on that.

FUCK THAT.

The world is going to have to figure something else out, because humans are simply more complicated then these little allotted samples.

Recently my wonderful friends over at Radio Open Source, aka Public Radio in Boston, urged me to enter into the Public Radio Talent Search…. so I submitted my audio for judgment in a contest who’s winner gets money, and some other lovely support from the NPR world.

As a struggling journalist, obviously I could use such things. Plus I’m honored that they thought of me, so I entered. I grabbed a random 2 minutes from the NEw Orleans series, and submitted it. (click the link if you feel like voting) And even as I did it, I was thinking “2 minutes… thats it?” Two minutes does not explain what I do and why it matters. To be judged in 2 minutes, after almost 3 years of podcasting, 200 shows, 6 years of blogging, and untold experiences and studies… is to me.. preposterous.

But this is how the world works, so often. Universities and their methods for judging potential students. Employers and their demand for that “CV”, which of course they never read beyond the first page. So your life’s worth is then evaluated based on a piece of paper, or a few pieces of paper, maybe some testimony from 2 people. The horror.

Actually it reminds me of speed dating. Thats right, I’m a curious person and an amateur anthropologist, so I went to a speed dating debauchery not too long ago. And again, my first thought from the moment I arrived: I will not try and explain myself in 3 minutes. I am complex in what might be a very good way, but that complexity cannot and should not, be squashed into 3 minutes because the world doesn’t have time to listen.

So public radio, you’ve got my 2 minutes. While it is true that this struggling journalist could use your help, I don’t need you to tell me my work is worth something, and I certainly don’t need you in order to continue in this well established podcast that already has a wonderful relationship with a large group of people scattered throughout the world.