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Our show:I bring in pieces for all of NPR's daily news programs: Morning Edition, Day to Day, All Things Considered, and the weekend versions of those programs.
My bio (the short version): I work with freelance and station reporters from 11 states. That means I'm calling out to reporters looking for stories and handling pitches that come to me. I also provide training for reporters. Before joining NPR in 1999 I was the News Director at Maine Public Radio and a frequent contributor to the NPR news mags. Though I work for NPR now I still work out of my house in Maine. Perhaps it was the squawking chickens in the background that convinced NPR that I should be the editor for the network's rural beat. I also serve on the board of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies (http://www.salt.edu/) in Portland.
How to pitch us, and what kinds of pitches work: Virtually all NPR editors want to hear your pitch before you start gathering tape. We want to be in on shaping your stories for our audience. E-mail is the best way to pitch. Breaking news would be the exception. In that case, a phone call will probably be faster. The best pitches tell me why the national audience will care about the story and give me a sense of what scenes and characters will be included in the piece. If you have never pitched before, most editors will want to hear samples of your work. NPR is looking for all kinds of stories. Even on heavy news days, we want our shows to include stories that transport our listeners to new places and situations and introduce them to new people. Any story well told can be an NPR story.
