Why I love my job...

I’m sure there are many reasons why people feel really good about a job they love. For me one of the biggest draws in radio has been the distinct advantage it gives you – the almost unbelievable access - to ask people questions and learn about their lives.

It’s not the nosiness factor that interests me; it's whatever makes many people feel passionate – in joy or sorrow. The striving for something more that really lights them up.

Years ago I interviewed a spelunker who spoke about the excitement he felt in an uncharted cave - not knowing what would happen around the next corner. It sounds trite when you write about it, but when you hear the expression in his voice, you just know why he’s taken huge chances. Radio is such an intimate medium.

Since I started hosting and producing Prime Time Focus a few months ago, I’ve had the renewed privilege of getting to interview people. I’ve talked with pianist Emil Pandolphi, whose love of a lyrical tune and how he can re-score it brings deep joy to his life. He delights in being on stage to share it with others. Interviewing him made me want to play the piano again, to listen to music with a finer-tuned ear, to think more about what composers and arrangers ponder. It’s a gift Emil left with me long after I finished the piece. Listen!

On the flip side, some interviews are so gut wrenching you can’t hear more. Years ago I edited a documentary on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I can still hear a Vietnam vet describing someone being tortured – it’s a memory I wish I could get rid of. I cannot.

Similarly the pain that Mr. Brewer feels in the piece I did for Prime Time Focus on the serious problems people have experienced with some pre-need funeral policies was very hard to hear. He trusted those people and with an income of just $600 a month, had few options when his wife suddenly died. Such stories make you want to be the very best reporter you can be and to tell a story with compassion. How could you violate such trust? (coming in December - we'll post a link here to the story)

I think people who work in radio will tell you that if you play a piece of audio they gathered a long time ago they’ll still remember who spoke the words, and the larger story they told. Alone with headphones on, the ears tune in to something beyond the words.

I feel so very fortunate to have found something I love to do so much. I hope you enjoy my work and it’s a pleasure to share my thoughts about it.

Do you love your work? Please let me know right here by leaving a comment. Click the word "comments" just below...

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Alyne Ellis

Silverdocs - On the Radio

The folks who produce Silverdocs, the AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival in Silver Spring, Maryland took a chance on something unusual this year and invited a radio festival to take part in the festivities.
(Gwen Macsai and Johanna Zorn of Third Coast)
The Third Coast International Audio Festival originates in Chicago, and brings together the country's most innovative and talented radio producers to talk shop and listen to each other's work each fall. With inspiration from Chicago producers like Ira Glass, host of This American Life, the festival has thrived and will be presenting its sixth edition in November.

At Silverdocs, festival co-director Johanna Zorn was joined by public radio host and producer Gwen Macsai for a listening session attended by about 50 people. Work from Third Coast's archives was played, including And I Walked, a compelling and unusual look at immigration across the Sonoran desert, and 'Til Death Do Us Part, a multi-layered audio home movie.

The idea was to present radio--with a focus on complex storytelling and craft--in a setting that is usually reserved for watching movies.

The producers of And I Walked, Ann Heppermann and Kara Oehler have both gone on to create an impressive body of work in their early careers, helping reinforce Third Coast's reputation as a builder and nurturer of talent.

To this listener, the pleasure of listening to the radio features would have been enhanced by contact with the writers and producers of the work, but the format instead presented a survey of material associated with the festival. The listeners seemed please to hear something so familiar in a new setting, and Third Coast has plans to take the show on the road to film festivals and other venues as it evangelizes for radio art.