Caption: Guglielmo Marconi, inventor and early radio technology pioneer. , Credit: Dibner Library for the History of Science and Technology
Image by: Dibner Library for the History of Science and Technology 
Guglielmo Marconi, inventor and early radio technology pioneer.  

#57 - Song of Marconi

Series: SaltCast: the Backstory to Great Radio Storytelling
From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Length: 00:07:31

Artist and writer Dennis Downey's essay on Marconi, an early radio pioneer, and talking on the radio. Read the full description.
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Piece Description

Radio producer Tony Kahn once said of an interviewee “She lives in her voice.” What a remarkably succinct way to say how one’s voice communicates more than just the words that are spoken. Cadence, pauses, inflections… all are non-verbal cues about character.

I’m a fan of one non-verbal component of voice in particular — accents. Unfortunately, a great homogenization of accents has occurred on radio. It’s rare, it seems, to hear regional accents whether its news reporters, program hosts, or djs.

The commentary by Dennis Downey featured on this Saltcast is an exception. Dennis, arguably, “lives in his voice.” Raised in New Bedford and now living on Cape Cod, his accent is refreshing and honest. Take a listen to Dennis’ essay on Marconi and talking on the radio. I’m sure his accent will perk up your ears.

(This essay orginally appeared on transom.org.)

1 Comment Atom Feed

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john curran

Posted on June 21, 2011 at 05:03 PM | Permalink

Profoundly memorable

I heard this piece on the radio as I was driving along the beach at Cape Canaveral National Seashore, a half-hour before dawn. I went to school in New Bedford, where I grew fond of visiting Horseneck Beach early in the morning, so Dennis Downey's voice caught my ear.
This piece was very moving, and not just because of its apposite context, timing, and shared sense of place. It was simple and profound.
When it finished, I left my car and climbed over the dunes toward the beach. I heard the sound of waves' ebb and flow, but couldn't see them. Dawn broke then, projecting rays of light from beyond the curve of the earth, across the ocean and the beach. Sunlight illuminated three nearby radio towers, each powerful enough for your voice to reach a person in space, and to receive their voice falling down from the sky. Not far down the beach, another tower was finally made visible beside which stood the final Space Shuttle.
Downey gave that moment its meaning to me: a shared sense of place and history; a perduring purpose to why we experiment and explore; our need to communicate our discoveries about life across time and space.

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