An audio story is a team effort, which is something I never knew. With my little experience in audio, I always did the work and took suggestions from colleagues and mentors. Here’s how NextGen Radio threw me for a loop.
EMBRACE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE
I’m used to putting myself, and finding myself, in uncomfortable settings. I’ve said time and time again that I’ve gotten “comfortable with being uncomfortable.” And I’ve had more than my share of uncomfortable experiences in public settings. However, I still find myself seeking out these uncomfortable situations because that’s where the learning happens.
I came to the Next Generation Radio Project for early career journalists with my usual reporting gear: my iPhone, iPad, Macbook Pro, and reporter’s notebook. Everyone else brought high-tech audio equipment from their radio stations. Here I was, still a graduate student with little audio experience under my belt. To take it even further, radio lingo filled the room when we had a speaker talk about how public broadcasting gets funded. Everyone understood. I tried my best to comprehend the information, but my inner monologue repeatedly said, “You don’t belong here. This is beyond you. Why are you here?”
Why am I here? To learn about the audio life. It was uncomfortable, but then I remembered my first experience with audio and kept that in the back of my mind moving forward in this KJZZ-sponsored project.
PERSONAL SPACE – OR NOT
Odette Yousef, my mentor, told me that I had to be in the source’s grill (well, in their faces) when recording. Even if that meant walking alongside them with the mic pointing at their feet or running beside them like a weirdo. I laughed at the mental picture.
I certainly don’t regret doing it. This made the editing process much easier, as Odette said it would.
Odette even gave me tips on capturing perfect audio such as:
- Constantly roll! No matter what.
- Don’t be afraid to stop the source and ask him/her to talk in complete sentences, especially with non-narrated stories.
- If you are in the middle of an interview and you noticed a unique sound, stop the source and explain you want to record that sound.
- If you are in the middle of an interview and an annoying sound interrupts on that drowns out the source, stop the interview until the noise stops.
- Don’t be afraid to ask a source to say something important over and over again. For example, his or her introduction.
Odette reassured me that while it may feel like I’m being rude, I’m not. I just have to explain to the source. And it may be a pain to log later, but you’ll thank yourself.
Giving the new audio eqpmt its first workout for #nextgenradio with @jourdanbb pic.twitter.com/6qkogXR1Fz
— Odette Yousef (@oyousef) February 17, 2016
TEAM WORK
I can’t thank Odette enough with her patience throughout this entire process, from that first phone call during my winter break to writing this last blog post now. I didn’t have the big kid toys to capture audio and she was gracious enough to give me a crash course on using her equipment. She even pushed me outside my comfort zone by practicing in the car on the way to our interview.
If I wanted any of her abilities to rub off on me, it would be her intensity. I noticed she sort of falls into a trance when logging. Her typing speed is insane. People think I type fast, but they don’t know Odette when it comes to logging and transcribing. Of course, I would also want her sweet editing skills.
Due to technology issues, Odette ended up editing the audio on her laptop. We worked together to lay it out, and discussed what would stay or go. We ultimately agreed to make a “radical” move and change the focus of the story, after we had just finished laying it out!
I wish I knew the audio editing program so I could’ve contributed more. But I listened in as Odette and Drew Jostad, our sound engineer, worked their audio magic in mixing the final piece. I knew we had to look for logic, story flow, and ambient sound, but they paid attention to the minute details. I overheard Drew mention something about low frequency and hertz or something, and how it was “booming.”
Amy Tardif (managing editor), Nishat Kurwa (digital advisor), and Odette gave me wonderful constructive feedback on writing these blog posts. I decided to try first-person views and found out I prefer it, and it’s probably why I’m attracted to magazine writing.
Overall, ahéhee’ (thank you), Odette, for being awesome, passionate, and very patient in this entire learning process.
HAVING A VOICE AS A NATIVE JOURNALIST
I can’t help but to add this last takeaway, though it may seem strange. During one of our editorial meetings, we went around and shared how our interviews went and how we were looking at laying out our audio stories. We also had to quickly sum up our story.
After explaining my story on Oak Flat, one of the mentors asked where I stood on the issue. I told her that I know as a journalist, I have to maintain a neutral position. Another mentor said I can still have a position on it. I realized I lost my own voice and it’s part of why I struggle as Native journalist. I noticed the timing of this conversation fell within a few days after reaching out to a Native journalist about this issue.
When I first learned the basics of journalism, my professor taught me to stay on my own little island at all times. I had to remain objective. As the years went on, I found out how difficult this can be as a Native journalist. I often turned to my Native mentors, who were reporters and editors. As my Native mentor said, my indigenous identity is an “asset” to the profession.
I report on indigenous issues because I know I relate to them and will tell the stories accurately. The sources trust me. Indian Country is very small so I will most likely know my potential sources. As my Native mentor told me in an email, “We don’t have that same option to remain separate (for many cultural and familial reasons) or unaffected like mainstream journalists do. Often, it’s our ability to relate to Native and POC issues (essentially, our bias) that make us invaluable assets to newsrooms. Ironic, but true.”
I can have a position when it comes to indigenous issues, but I will try my best as a Diné journalist to tell a well-rounded story.