It is probably sacrilege to say this, but I get my radio news from all-news AM radio stations. Not "talk show" radio, but 24/7 news like KFWB in L.A. and WINS in N.Y.C. This book is a perplexing mixture of general audio production, interview techniques, and most heavily-handed, making whatever you do conform to NPR stylistic rules.

Woefully missing is anything that would apply to either a commercial news radio station or the news department in a commercial music radio station. Although there is technical information which applies to all, the entire book seems to expect you to be a true believer in the NPR way of doing things. I have nothing against NPR, of course I listen to public radio. However, everything stylistic in this book is presented as the only way things are done, including many annoying quirks of NPR style. The author does not appear to be able to differentiate style from substance, and that is the book's biggest problem.

As an analogy I would point to Wikipedia's stylistic quirks. All articles start with a brief introduction, then a detailed table of contents, then sections with just the right number of citations, then links, then notes. Now, there are an infinite number of ways information can be presented on a web page (or on the radio). Wikipedia's method works, but almost all of its components are presented in a way that conforms to their style. The same for NPR. If you are on the radio and cue up a piece by Daniel Schorr, there is no objective reason it has to play like this:
-Daniel Schorr, "I can never visit Philadelphia without being reminded of the story of the penguin."
-Nina Totenberg: "NPR's Daniel Schorr."
-Daniel Schorr "It was a cloudy day in 1956 and we were visiting the Philadelphia Zoo..."

But stylistically that is how all such interactions have to happen, according to this book. Now for someone looking for information on host/guest interaction, all they're going to find in this book is NPR's version of host/guest interaction. Separating information from style will be very difficult for anyone unfamiliar with a radio newsroom.

From the book description and reviews I had expected a book on how to produce great radio stories. What I found was a book on how to do radio NPR's way. The undercurrent is that NPR is the only radio news worth listening to in the entire country. They aren't.

Brand	N/A
Rating	4.6 (206 ratings)
Price	$19.41
Category	Radio

Sound Reporting: The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production