James Hannaway uses this piece to describe his experience door knocking for a political group over the summer. I liked the use of sound throughout the piece, especially the door knocking and footsteps because it puts the listener in the James’ place. I also liked the line, “It was the best job I’ve ever had,” because most people don’t like asking for money, but when he says that, it draws the listener in and makes them wonder why anyone would ever like asking for money. There were some confusing aspects to this story, however, and I think it’s because in the descriptions of the piece, it’s hard to know what the context for the story is. He refers to “connecting better with people here,” but I don’t know where “here” is. The last clip at the end doesn’t seem to make any sense either. Overall though, an interesting look at a job that nobody seems to want, it needs more context then it’s given.

Jennifer Addo’s story about learning English in a classroom full of Spanish speakers sheds new light on the ESL program for me. Growing up in a school district with many friends in ESL classes, it never occurred to me the camaraderie that could be built up between those who speak the same native language. It was so interesting to get Jennifer’s perspective coming into an area where most kids are from Spanish speaking countries. Although parts of the voicing were a little difficult to understand, she does a great job of weaving different scenes in and out of her voicing. I especially liked the montage where the students said where they were from and what language they spoke at home. The last few seconds felt a little off topic when she began talking about her mom; although it was captivating, it seemed like it belonged in a different story, which could be equally as important to tell. Overall though, a fascinating idea for a story. This would be great to air as kids start thinking about the academic year and head back to school this fall.

I haven’t ever heard of anything like the Anchorage Teen Court which makes this a great topic for a radio story. Because many people don’t know anything about the teen court, it might be a good idea to provide the listener with more background. For example, how do kids who commit crimes get put into teen court? What is its relationship with the traditional judicial system?

The interviewees that the reporter chose were interesting to listen to and generally provided good information, however some of the quotes could have been shortened. As a listener it’s a lot easier to listen to shorter sound bites, and they also may pack more punch when they’re not as lengthy. The time between the voicing and quotes felt just the slightest bit rushed, so maybe a little more time between them would help.

I liked how the reporter told listeners practical information about where the program could be found, because for local listeners that could be beneficial. This would be a good story for areas of the country who are dealing with juvenile crime problems. It would be interesting to juxtapose the teen court with what is happening in areas having trouble with juvenile delinquency.

In this piece, Ece Ergadöz takes the listener on a journey to discover what it feels like to be the “other” in society, the one who doesn’t quite fit in. She has a great conversational script, and her voicing is full of energy and curiosity. For a couple of the questions she has answers in a montage format which works well when she’s asking people about their backgrounds, but gets muddled when she asks how people feel about being the “other.” Although I liked the effect of having multiple voices at once, they were hard to understand, so bringing some voices out more would be helpful. I was also more interested in the answers to this question than some of the others, so maybe actually having more of a few students’ answers would have been helpful. It was great that she added actual sound from her Grandmother’s funeral and painted a vivid scene about her feelings surrounding it. I was also a big fan of Ece’s writing style, and one of my favorite lines from her piece is when she remarks that “our commonality (as humans) is our experience of otherness.” I thought it was a very profound realization, and one that’s made me think.

Min did a great job reporting on a very important aspect of the new health care bill, the omission of coverage for undocumented immigrants. Her voicing is smooth and her writing flows in and out of the quotes well. It added a lot of credibility that she talked to an expert who works with new immigrants on health care insurance issues. The only two things I would say is that the scenes where she talks to those affected could have been developed more; it felt like just a few more words about each person could have given the listener a better picture of who they were. It also might have been good to get the point of view of someone who is against granting health care to undocumented immigrants, as this is a very hot topic of debate right now. Overall though, the piece was concise, specific and well-written.

Irina is a true storyteller. A native of Belarus born six years after the Chernobyl disaster, the best part about her piece is her frankness about her health problems. She doesn’t shy away from her feelings about the illness and her unique ability to add humor into potentially humorless conversations, made me feel like I was having a conversation with her also. Although there were a few spots where the voicing was a little hard to understand, overall it flowed very well. Through the audio of her interviews I was able to see more of Irina’s personality which was a great touch. Irina’s ability to tell her story about her illness and the journey she went on to find out more about it, is captivating because she takes the listener on the journey with her. She starts out with one scene and builds the rest of the story around other scenes which pull the listener in and make them feel a part of the search for the true cause of her health problems. This might be a great story to air on the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident, April 26, 2011.