Here and There

Tonight, I saw Ira Glass, host of NPR’s This American Life, and Chris Ware, comic artist and creator of Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth. They spoke in Berkeley, and the subject was storytelling.

I hope that introduction didn’t bore anyone, or discourage you from reading on. What I want to comment on, in addition to simply saying that the evening was totally inspiring, are a few comments Glass made.

First, in reference to some of his show’s stories about Hurricane Katrina, Glass said, “With coverage, you want to be there. If you’re the broadcaster, you don’t want to just offer the viewer or listener a glimpse in. You want to put them in, as close to the action or scene as you possibly can.”

Glass gave TAL, appropriately, props for doing just that with their reports from New Orleans in September. In clips Glass played for the audience tonight, reporter Sarah Koenig’s emotion came through in her real-time reactions to what she was seeing, namely tombs and caskets washed up to the side of the road. She also ended up laughing, surreally enough, when she saw a tree that destroyed a subject’s home completely. It was absurd laughter, the kind that comes out when you’ve seen the worst of all possible situations.

The other thing I really took to heart tonight was when Glass talked about the artificiality of interviews, in general. But he seemed to glide right over that point, and anyone who’s listened to the radio program knows it’s built largely around the interview.

I really appreciated that Glass said, “Interviews are like parties, and you [the journalist] are the host. You set the tone.”

I’m no pro (literally, haha), but I totally agree, and have noticed that in my own interviewing. I try to make it as much a conversation as I can. I try to relate to the person I’m talking with. I have questions in mind, sure, but I like to let the answers unravel as naturally as possible. I also like to interject humor, to make as personable a situation as possible, so that the person talking with me trusts me.

Okay, okay, enough about me. I promised a long time ago this blog wouldn’t be about me. Sorry.

I’ll end with the best quote of the night. UC Berkeley played USC in football tonight, and by the time we got out of BART, loud, big, obnoxious people in red shirts and red caps were every-freaking-where. Glass was talking about Katrina coverage, and said something about “the convention center and the Super…is it dome or bowl? I never remember.” The audience reminded him of the answer, to which he quipped back, “oh yeah, and by the way, USC sucks.”

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