[Imc-newsroom] Story Pitches for "Making Contact"

Tue Sep 17 22:50:13 CDT 2002

FYI:

Independent Journalists,

    The National Radio Project is looking for story ideas for our
upcoming "Making Contact" programs.  If you would like to pitch a story,
please refer to our guidelines at the bottom of the email.  Thanks, and
I look forward to hearing from you.

--Phillip Babich
managing producer
National Radio Project

====================

Making Contact
Production Calendar
Updated: September 16, 2002

Edition: #38-02   STATUS: PRODUCED
Uplink: September 18, 2002
Title: "Leading the Way: Post 9/11 Student Activism"
Description: Since the terrorist attacks of September 11th,
2001, students at college campuses in the United States
have been at the forefront of activism and public
discourse concerning what is often called the U.S.
government's war on terrorism.  Those students have
sometimes been the targets of law enforcement sweeps,
racial attacks, and heated accusations of being un-
American.  On this edition of Making Contact, we take a look
at an emerging anti-war movement and some of the
challenges students face in this post 9/11 era.
This program is the second in a two-part series
that was produced in collaboration with Foreign Policy in
Focus, a co-sponsor of the First Monday Project 2002.

Edition: #39-02  STATUS: PRODUCED
Uplink: September 25, 2002
Title: "Growing Doubts: Corporate Control of Agriculture"
Description: As some of the largest corporations in the world dominate
the agriculture industry, small farmers are at risk of
losing their land and livelihoods.  Other forces are at
play, as well, including policies set forth by
international financial institutions and, as is the case
with Black farmers in the United States, racism.  On this
edition of Making Contact we take a look at the plight of
family farmers.

Edition: #40-02  STATUS: IN FINAL PRODUCTION
Uplink: October 2, 2002
Title: [School of the Americas]
Freelancer deadline: September 18, 2002
Final Script: September 18, 2002
Final Mix: September 19, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: September 23, 2002
Description: On this program we take a look at the movement to shut down
the School of the Americas.  We also speak to some of the activists who
are serving prison sentences for engaging in civil disobedience at Ft.
Benning, Georgia.

Edition: #41-02  STATUS: IN FINAL PRODUCTION
Uplink: October 9, 2002
Title: TBA [Plastic food containers, our health and the environment]
Freelancer deadline: September 19, 2002
Final Script: September 20, 2002
Final Mix: September 23, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: September 30, 2002
Description: On this program, we take a look at the health and
environmental impacts of plastic food and beverage containers.  What
happens to us and the environmental when we produce, use, and dispose of
these ubiquitous products?

Edition: #42-02  STATUS: ACCEPTING PITCHES
Uplink: October 16, 2002
Title: TBA [Affordable Housing]
Freelancer deadline: September 26, 2002
Final Script: September 27, 2002
Final Mix: September 30, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: October 7, 2002
Description: On this program we take a look at trends in affordable
housing and efforts to increase the supply of housing for low to
moderate income people.  We also take a look at some individuals who are
choosing to live "outside the system," by squatting.

Edition: #43-02  STATUS: ACCEPTING PITCHES
Uplink: October 23, 2002
Title: TBA [Logging in Malaysia]
Freelancer deadline: October 3, 2002
Final Script: October 4, 2002
Final Mix: October 7, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: October 11, 2002
Description: On this program we take a look at logging by transnational
corporations in Malaysia.  This underrerported story will cover
environmental destruction, government secrecy, influence over the media,
and political repression.

Edition: #44-02  STATUS: ACCEPTING PITCHES
Uplink: October 30, 2002
Title: TBA [Racial Inequality in Schools]
Freelancer deadline: October 10, 2002
Final Script: October 11, 2002
Final Mix: October 14, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: October 21, 2002
Description: On this program we take a look at racial disparities in
education: including in classroom facilities, quality of education, and
testing.  We also hear about campaigns underfoot to challenge these
disparities.

Edition: #45-02  STATUS: ACCEPTING PITCHES
Uplink: November 6, 2002
Title: TBA [Organized Labor and the War on Terrorism]
Freelancer deadline: October 17, 2002
Final Script: October 18, 2002
Final Mix: October 21, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: October 28, 2002
Description: On this program we take a look at how the so-called war on
terrorism has affected union organizing.  In one example, the Bush
administration has undermined the threat of a strike by ILWU
dockworkers, claiming that national security interests would require
them to stay on the job.  In another example, baggage checkers at
airports may not be allowed to unionize because the Bush administration
says that union membership presents a security risk.

Edition: #46-02  STATUS: ROUNDTABLE EDITION -- NO  PITCHES
Uplink: November 13, 2002
Title: TBA [White Anitracist Activism]
Final Script: October 21, 2002
Final Mix: October 22, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: November 4, 2002
Description: On this program we take a look at some of the concepts and
methods behind White antiracist activism, and its importance in
challenging white supremacy.

Edition: #47-02  STATUS: ACCEPTING PITCHES
Uplink: November 20, 2002
Title: TBA [an international look at Right-Wing movements ]
Freelancer Deadline: October 24, 2002
Final Script: October 25, 2002
Final Mix: October 28, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: November 8, 2002
Description: On this program we take an international look at Right-Wing
movements.  In France, Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the National Front
leader, rode a wave of right-wing extremism in the presidential
elections this year.  In the United States, some far-right groups
expressed solidarity with Islamic fundamentalists after the Sept. 11,
2001 terrorist attacks.  What are some of the key trends in right-wing
politics?  Where are some of the hot spots?

Edition: #48-02  STATUS: ACCEPTING PITCHES
Uplink: November 27, 2002
Title: TBA [A look at U.S. A.I.D.]
Freelancer Deadline: October 31, 2002
Final Script: November 1, 2002
Final Mix: November 4, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: November 18, 2002
Description: On this program we take a look at the track record of the
U.S. government's Agency for International Development.  Who benefits
from this agency that gives monetary support to countries, organizations
and companies engaged in development projects overseas?

Edition: #49-02  STATUS: ACCEPTING PITCHES
Uplink: December 4, 2002
Title: TBA [An international look at rights for Lesbians, Gays,
Bisexuals, and Transgenders]
Freelancer Deadline: November 7, 2002
Final Script: November 8, 2002
Final Mix: November 11, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: November 25, 2002
Description: Each day the fundamental human rights of lesbians, gay men,
bisexuals, and transgendered people are violated in countries around the
world.   Murder, torture, and psychiatric "treatment," are among a long
list of abuses.  On this program we take a look at some examples, as
well as efforts to challenge this discrimination.

Edition: #50-02  STATUS: ACCEPTING PITCHES
Uplink: December 11, 2002
Title: TBA [Corporate Globalization, the Middle East, and the U.S. War
on Terrorism]
Freelancer Deadline: November 14, 2002
Final Script: November 15, 2002
Final Mix: November 18, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: December 2, 2002
Description: On this program we take a look at links among coporate
interests in the Middle East and the U.S. War on Terrorism.  What
natural resources are at stake?  What geo-political strategies are being
orchestrated to gain control of those resources?

Edition: #51-02  STATUS: ACCEPTING PITCHES
Uplink: December 18, 2002
Title: TBA [Private Interests and our Children's Imagination]
Freelancer Deadline: November 21, 2002
Final Script: November 22, 2002
Final Mix: November 25, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: December 9, 2002
Description: From living rooms to classrooms, corporations are actively
targeting young people.  And that so-called target audience is getting
younger and younger.  What are the impacts of increasing corporate
influence on our children's mental environment?  What are the long term
implications for democracy?

Edition: #52-02  STATUS: ARCHIVE -- NO PITCHES
Uplink: December 25, 2002
Title: TBA
Final Script: November 25, 2002
Final Mix: November 26, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: December 16, 2002

Edition: #01-03  STATUS: ARCHIVE -- NO PITCHES
Uplink: January 1, 2003
Title: TBA
Final Script: December 2, 2002
Final Mix: December 3, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: December 23, 2002

Edition: #02-03  STATUS: ACCEPTING PITCHES
Uplink: January 8, 2003
Title: TBA [Radio and Popular Movements]
Freelancer Deadline: December 5, 2002
Final Script: December 6, 2002
Final Mix: December 9, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: December 30, 2002
Description: Over the last several decades, radio has been an integral
part of movement building and, in some cases, guerilla activity. Cuba
and El Salvador are just two examples.  On this program, we take a look
at the vital roles that radio has played in mobilizing communities.

Edition: #03-03  STATUS: ACCEPTING PITCHES
Uplink: January 15, 2003
Title: TBA [Roe v. Wade]
Freelancer Deadline: TBA
Final Script: TBA
Final Mix: December 16, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: January 6, 2002
Description: On this program the National Radio Project's Women's Desk
takes a look at reproductive rights, marking the anniversary of the
landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

Edition: #04-03  STATUS: ACCEPTING PITCHES
Uplink: January 22, 2003
Title: TBA [The track record of Coca Cola]
Freelancer Deadline: December 12, 2002
Final Script: December 13, 2002
Final Mix: December 17, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: January 13, 2002
Description: On this program we take a look at the labor and business
practices of the Coca Cola company.

Edition: #04-03  STATUS: ACCEPTING PITCHES
Uplink: January 29, 2002
Title: TBA [Organized Crime and Corporate Malfeasance]
Freelancer deadline: December 19, 2002
Final Script: December 20, 2002
Final Mix: December 23, 2002
Mail CDs to Stations: January 20, 2002
Description: On this program we take a look at money laundering and
international crime-fighting methods.  We also take a look at so-called
white collar crime and whether corporate malfeasance, such as illegal
accounting practices, can and should be viewed as organized crime.

Making Contact
Submission Guidelines 2002

Making Contact adheres to the highest standards. Please follow the
guidelines carefully:
1. Record on digital format or cassette (high bias preferred)
2. If available, choose Dolby setting when recording
3. Use professional microphone and tape machine (see suggested equipment
list)
4. Please clearly label recordings and accompanying material
5. Meticulous recording habits are appreciated (see recording tips)
6. Narration should be conversational, not glossy or heroic
7. Please submit contact information for interviewees (address, phone,
email, etc.)

Editorial process:
1. Get story pre-approval and deadline
2. Submit script and recorded segments
3. Discuss any changes or re-writes
4. Record and edit narration
5. Submit final edit and script
6. Final mix conducted at the National Radio Project (NRP)

NRP pays $175 for 7-10 min. edited segments.  $150 for 5-6 mins. Other
lengths, terms discussed. Kill fee $25. We consider unedited recordings
of interviews, speeches and events.  Rates vary.

Making Contact is a half-hour weekly public affairs program heard on 160
community and public radio stations. MPEG and RealAudio on the Internet.
Short-wave: Radio for Peace International

To pitch a story, write a one to two paragraph description; include
potential interviewees. Making Contact is not a news program and focuses
primarily on underlying structural issues. Stories should avoid
time-dating and be relevant a minimum of 3 months after broadcast.
Before pitching a story,  be familiar with the mission of NRP, as posted
on our website www.radioproject.org or ask for a hard copy.  In making
your pitch, please consider the following questions:
* Does the story relate public interests to governmental policies and
corporate priorities?
* Does the story give listeners a historical, political, or social
context of major national and
       international events?
* Does the story shed light on social and economic inequities?
* Does the story link grassroots issues to national or international
trends?

Submit pitches by email, fax or mail to managing producer Phillip Babich
- pbabich at radioproject.org

--
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
Phillip Babich
1904 Franklin St. - Suite 415
Oakland, Calif. 94612
phone: (510) 251-1332 x. 103
fax: (510) 251-1342
pbabich at radioproject.org
www.radioproject.org
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]