Sound Reporting: The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production

by Jonathan Kern

Perhaps you’ve always wondered how public radio gets that smooth, well-crafted sound. Maybe you’re thinking about starting a podcast, and want some tips from the pros. Or maybe storytelling has always been a passion of yours, and you want to learn to do it more effectively. Whatever the case—whether you’re an avid NPR listener or you aspire to create your own audio, or both— Sound Reporting: The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production will give you a rare tour of the world of a professional broadcaster.

Jonathan Kern, who has trained NPR’s on-air staff for years, is a gifted guide, able to narrate a day in the life of a host and lay out the nuts and bolts of production with equal wit and warmth. Along the way, he explains the importance of writing the way you speak, reveals how NPR books guests ranging from world leaders to neighborhood newsmakers, and gives sage advice on everything from proposing stories to editors to maintaining balance and objectivity. Best of all—because NPR wouldn’t be NPR without its array of distinctive voices—lively examples from popular shows and colorful anecdotes from favorite personalities animate each chapter.

As public radio’s audience of millions can attest, NPR’s unique guiding principles and technical expertise combine to connect with listeners like no other medium can. With today’s technologies allowing more people to turn their home computers into broadcast studios, Sound Reporting couldn’t have arrived at a better moment to reveal the secrets behind the story of NPR’s success.

Genres: Journalism, Nonfiction, Writing, Business, Reference, Textbooks

380 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I great book for anyone interested in radio (or now the open world of podcasts) whether their interest comes from wanting to be apart of it or just be it passing. To satisfy this interest it covers every single role of the creative process and does not make any single one seems less significant than the last. Each chapter is built with examples and quotes from people who have and are working in that role now at NPR. This book was made with love and passion and it show with the detail on every page.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enthusiastic 5 stars 🙌🏼 I initially got this because I was looking to learn more about writing for television news. There are some pretty significant differences but enough similarities to be helpful. Gah! In some sections I could feel the stress of being in the control room, of writing a script or editing a video for a show even as the show is already starting to air. The last chapter on going digital should be expanded into its own book.

[joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd have read the updated version from late last year, but this is the copy my library had. Obviously, the examples the book gives are of their time, and the technology picture is very different all these years later (in this book, they're still using MiniDiscs), but it is a good overall look into the process of making quality public radio programs, and audio journalism broadly. I just wish they had followed their own advice and read the book more carefully to check for writing errors, as I found quite a lot, especially in the second half of the book. Pobody's nerfect!

[Will James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed and read "Sound Reporting" during my first year as a full-time public radio reporter. It's a comprehensive and insightful book about how to make public radio, if a little tedious at times. If you work in public radio, or even podcasting, this is required reading. It will change the way you write, speak, and think about storytelling. If you don't work in public radio, well, I'm not sure why you would pick this up. I wouldn't recommend it.

[Liz Delf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a valuable book on audio journalism and NPR's journalistic approach, with an emphasis on ethics and getting good tape. The examples bring it to life, and I consistently appreciate NPR's willingness to tell stories about times they got it wrong in order to help future journalists learn and do better. This was published right as podcasts started expanding, though, so it unfortunately feels pretty dated for college students.

[Mr. Sterner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nerd alert!

NPR is the gold standard for radio reporting. Before there were podcasts, there was NPR.

Learn the basics--not just of the technical side of audio reporting--but the thinking, reporting, and logic that goes into building a great audio news story.

[rad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone somehow involved or interested in radio/podcast/audio production. It offers many practical tips, good examples and generous professional insight. Generally, an excellent and extensive handbook on how to make great audio content.

[Christopher Sherrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helped me a lot in figuring out my podcasts.

[Kavan]

it is an interesting book

[Robert Mit]

Excellent book by the best audio gurus in the business, NPR.

[Diana Manuhutu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this book for my Broadacasting Journalism 2 class when I was doing my master degree. Great book!!

[Mary Job · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow nice book

[daniela]

I skipped some chapters but I could definitely see this being helpful to look back at, read for class

[Harrison Watters · Rating 5 out of 5]

While new technology makes some techniques outdated, the core principles for reporting, producing, booking, hosting, and editing are still fundamental.

[Adam Maisto · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a self-proclaimed independent producer with almost no portfolio who is trying to break into pretty much any public broadcasting market that I can, this book was very useful to me - but not in the ways that I thought it would be. Glossing over my limited experience would not give proper context, so I was a part of my high school's student-run radio production group for three years, leading it for the latter two. Now, I have plans (as I move to Wisconsin in a few months) to create soundscapes (both with and without verbal components) of the upper Midwest, hoping to perhaps get one 4-minute feature on a public radio affiliate somewhere, in some small market. It's all I can muster - I have a busy few months ahead of me.

This being said, I have no experience in the world of professional broadcast journalism. I hope to someday, as that is my dream career. Kern's book is giving me very casual and helpful insights into what that world is like. The most useful sections, in my view, are the ones talking about very rudimentary radio writing (which is COMPLETELY different from any other sort of journalistic writing, as you may or may not expect) and the ones detailing journalism ethics in the radio discipline and writ large.

Is this useful for an independent producer? Well, yes and no. Everyone in this field should know what kind of judgement to use when picking what tape, what actualities, to include. And absolutely everyone should know how to write for radio (read: extremely concisely, casually, and informatively) and what constitutes "good ethics." And anyone in the independent production field certainly should know NPR-lingo, which is detailed extensively throughout the book, as well as in a convenient glossary in the back.

In terms of actual information that will always be pertinent to you as an independent producer, this probably isn't the way to go. I'd sooner recommend free websites like Transom.org or PRX, both of which are inexplicably invaluable for independent producers - they've already helped me so much. PRX in particular is the actual vehicle for independent production, acting as a linkage institution between stations and producers. Transom is a great resource that has answers to all of your (and my) questions, and PRX surprisingly fills in some cracks as well, with cool little charts on all sorts of things, such as program clocks and compression.

And, in terms of how to USE radio as a medium, personally, I wouldn't first recommend this book (although I would recommend it in general!) The most helpful book in that regard, for me anyways, has been Reality Radio: Telling True Stories in Sound. By some people's accounts, I was the first person to write the maxim "Imagination is the soul of radio," but if not for that book, I wouldn't have ever thought of it.

At the end of the day, however, buy this book and read it. It's a lot of information, and it is sometimes infuriatingly microfocused (in the context of my own admittedly microfocused purposes), but it is completely worth your time.

[Mediaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This very good book goes into detail about how the NPR news philosophy operates, from writing and hosting to producing and directing. There are many terms and methods that are unlike anything in commercial radio, so if you are working at NPR this is a great guidebook. If you're in commercial radio it's relatively worthless because the NPR culture is so different.

The author has correctly pointed out the "rules" of basic radio newswriting (and some chapters seems like they're directly taken from other books on commercial newswriting). BUT there's one big problem--most of NPR doesn't actually follow the rules! The author talks about being fair and objective, about not including the reporter's opinion and writing, the copy in such a way as to not sound like a newspaper is being read. NPR rarely follows these guidelines--the network's newscasts and programs are full of subjectivity, skewed to a progressive or liberal perspective, and stories use a print writing style of long sentences, big words, and misplaced attributions.

So while the book is good in theory, it would help if people involved with public radio would actually practice the objectivity and broadcast writing style that this book claims is the standard.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sprightly guide to the NPR way of doing radio, mostly directed at the broadcast journalist, but accessible to the lay reader. If you've ever wondered why an interview host never greets more than one guest at a time, or what a "who dat?" is, you'll be interested in Kern's book. The most entertaining sections are the backmatter: a guide to writing pronouncers and an extensive glossary of NPR-speak.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was much better than I expected it was going to be. I thought it was going to be extremely dry and dense, but that wasn't the case at all. It's quite engaging and has a lot of great information as well as anecdotes and tips from various folks at NPR - many you will recognize from listening to public radio.

[Steven Yenzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing handbook for making audio of any kind. A great blend of theory and practical advice. I was interning at a public radio station as I read it, and many of the things I learned at work I read about that night (or vice versa). I would recommend it to anyone at a beginner or even intermediate level of radio production.

[Jody · Rating 3 out of 5]

I now listen to NPR with an editor or producer's ear. I hear mistakes and I hear very smooth transitions. Makes a great teaching text for illustrating how radio programs are put together for the biggest effect.

[Cecily Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book on sound reporting, this is actually very easy to read and interesting. I read it for my Media Writing class and learned a lot about the art of broadcasting.

[Amy Rainey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an awesome guide to working for NPR.

[John Shirreffs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for a fan of NPR or anyone interested in journalism. If you want to get into 'citizen journalism' this is a great start.

[Carli Brosseau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkably helpful guide and general journalism discussion.