Experienced producers only, please!
Latitudes, WAMU’s global affairs radio program, will be producing a series of hour-long programs this fall. The show goes behind the headlines to bring listeners into the daily lives of ordinary people all over the world. It also highlights local-global connections and looks at solutions to global challenges. (www.latitudesradio.org.)
We’re looking for story ideas that surprise, provoke and illuminate, and address issues from unique and offbeat angles. Here are some themes we may be following this fall, defined freely and broadly:
Food: We’re looking for a wide mix of stories, from something as frothy as the history of cake in Ethiopian cuisine to something as heavy as hunger strikes. How does food shed light on a local culture, have the power to make change, or reflect what’s happening in the news? We’re also looking for stories about how our relationship with food — how we produce it, cook it and eat it – is shifting.
Consumption: What we consume and how we consume it can affect everything from the environment to public health to local cultures. These stories would highlight global disparities in consumption, what happens when wants turn into needs, the impact of new technologies and the changing patterns of consumption in emerging nations.
Going Backwards: This theme confronts the reality that “progress” is not always always linear. Stories could focus on anything from a coup d’etat, to the status of women in certain places, to self-deportation, to development aid and technology. We may also question whether failure itself is always a bad thing – including stories from cultures that honor it for the effort it reflects and the lessons it offers.
People on the Move: This can cover anything from transportation to immigration. The world never stays still.
Making a Living: What are some of the original/uplifting/inspiring ways people are managing in a tough global economy? What happens when it’s impossible to find a job?
While Latitudes’ focus is mainly international, we’re also interested in domestic story ideas that fit these themes, especially if they have an international element or make a local-global connection. And if you have a great international story idea that doesn’t fit into any of these themes, let us know anyway!
Latitudes pays $650 for standard, sound-rich features (4-6 minutes long) and $250-$350 for shorter vignettes (2-3 minutes long) depending on the level of difficulty involved.
Please send your pitches and questions to Latitudes producer Andrea Wenzel at awenzel@wamu.org, by Tuesday, June 26.