Piece image

#52 - Just Another Fish Story

Series: SaltCast: the Backstory to Great Radio Storytelling
From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Length: 00:14:03

You didn’t hear this from me, but sometimes the best approach to working on a story is to not have much of a plan. Read the full description.
To hear the full audio, sign up for a free PRX account or log in.

Also in the SaltCast: the Backstory to Great Radio Storytelling series

Caption: Katie West smiles to change the world. , Credit: Avery Moore

#59 - Powered By Laughter (00:13:11)
From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies

At Salt we say "Music is emotional fascism." It's a bit tongue-in-cheek. But, the idea is that you want to be VERY careful when you choose to use music for scoring a story.
Caption: President Franklin Roosevelt examines a model of the proposed Quoddy Dam, Eastport, Maine in 1935. The project barely got off the ground before it failed miserably., Credit: National Archive.

#58 - Dam Radio Story (00:17:14)
From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies

Sometimes the first step is the hardest. Same with starting a story.
Caption: Guglielmo Marconi, inventor and early radio technology pioneer. , Credit: Dibner Library for the History of Science and Technology

#57 - Song of Marconi (00:07:31)
From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies

Artist and writer Dennis Downey's essay on Marconi, an early radio pioneer, and talking on the radio.
Caption: Glenn Johnson's business card reads "Dowswer, Consultant to the Universe.", Credit: Katherine Hays

#56 - Dowser, Consultant to the Universe (00:12:25)
From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies

Dowswer Glenn Johnson makes a mistake.
Piece image

#55 - How I Get By (00:14:35)
From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies

Focus. Focus. Focus.
Caption: The Guerette family of Pittston, Maine two years after attackers broke into their home with machetes. , Credit: Sarah Craig

#53 - Left For Dead (00:17:50)
From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies

"Left for Dead" is probably the most gruesome story reported by a Salt student. It's not for the faint of heart.
Piece image

#54 - No Brother of Mine (00:27:24)
From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies

Diane Richard and her husband Todd Melby sure know how to pick a project with a long uphill road to the finish line. On this Saltcast, we talk with Diane and Richard about ...
Caption: Nathan Dyer focuses hard — really hard — on the chandelier., Credit: Morrigan McCarthy

#51 - Portrait of a Psychic as a Young Man (00:11:47)
From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies

Ninety-nine percent of the time, using the pronoun “I” in a story is a journalistic no-no. But sometimes, it's a useful storytelling tool.
Piece image

#50 - Ghetto Life 101 (00:38:07)
From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies

“Ghetto Life 101" is a high-water mark for radio documentary and the story featured on this edition of the Saltcast — our fiftieth!!
Caption: Jerry Blackburn, “The Junk King” of the Downeast region of Maine. , Credit: Alexandra Marvar, courtesy of the Salt archive

#49 - The Junk King (00:15:04)
From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies

On this edition of the Saltcast, I chat with Salt alum Josh Gleason about framing a story and listen to his feature "The Junk King."

Piece Description

You didn’t hear this from me, but sometimes the best approach to working on a story is to not have much of a plan. (cough)

I actually can’t believe I just wrote that.

I’m a firm believer in working with a penciled-in plan before embarking on a story. Starting out, a producer should have a pretty good sense of who to talk to, where to record active tape (people doing stuff), and a rough idea of how the story might be told. It’s advice I doggedly offer students at Salt.

Producer Molly Menschel ignored most of those recommendations and ended up assembling what I believe is the best student piece produced at Salt. Molly followed her instincts rather than the rules.

Inspiration struck after she stumbled across a ten-year old story about a beached whale in Lubec, Maine. Armed only with a little preparation, she grabbed her microphone, some camping gear, and her curiosity then drove four hours to Lubec and interviewed anyone she could find for four days straight.

The result is “Just Another Fish Story.” Have a listen.

Related Website

www.salt.edu

Sign up for PRX

Log in

Piece Statistics

Actions

Of 3 purchasers of this piece...