In a groundbreaking new initiative, KCRW has set out to support and cultivate the independent voices of public radio whose work tells the stories that have made our medium unique and compelling.
By creating a special fund, KCRW can take chances on new ways of doing what public radio has always done best — tell the stories that matter and move us.
Our goal is for this work to be experienced across the entire public radio system. The IPP has already commissioned pieces that have been heard on national shows, All Things Considered, This American Life, and The Story.
KCRW’s Independent Producer Project supports and cultivates independent producers who create unique and compelling stories. We encourage submissions from content-makers of all backgrounds, and experience levels.
Feel free to send us your best story ideas and finished works — and also your ideas for longer-term, multi-segment projects. We are currently accepting submissions for radio and multi-media projects.
WHAT TO PITCH
Pitch a story that you’ve honed to the point where your subject–the WHAT is compelling to a first-time reader in a sentence. Then briefly tell us WHO we’ll hear from and WHY we’ll want to stop and listen to them. Tell us WHERE you’ll take us in the most literal sense, and HOW you’ll take us there using audio and other media. Your pitch should convince us that your story needs to be heard. Not just told: heard.
HOW TO PITCH
Treat us the way you like to be treated. Make your pitch simple and engaging. Tell us just enough to make us want to hear more. A paragraph or two at most. Give us a sense of the length of the piece and tell us how you can imagine the piece going beyond the medium of radio. Surprise us with your ideas and then convince us that you’re equipped to make them real. Don’t send visuals or audio. Trust your words to grab our interest. If we like what we see, we’ll reach out to you for more. So be ready. And if you don’t get a response right away, please be understanding. We’re a small staff and we receive many submissions and cannot follow up with everyone right away. But please be assured, we will get back to you.