3 Days Until the Aural Fixation Deadline! Send us your strange and beautiful sounds.

Strange Beauty audio contest reminder:
There are only three days left for you to send us your strangely beautiful or beautifully strange audio. We'd love to hear from you, so send us your best by March 15, 2014.

Aural Fixation accepts audio work of any shape or form with a running time of 7 minutes or less. Pieces in the 90 second to 5 minute range are encouraged. The only requirement is that the work be strangely beautiful and/or beautifully strange. We are looking for stuff that strikes a chord, has an emotional impact, makes us think. If you feel your piece fits the bill, it probably does. We can't wait to hear it. Previous broadcast history is of no concern.

Entry instructions online here:

http://www.strangebeauty.org/page4/enter.html

Strange Beauty will be held June 12-14, 2014, in Durham, North Carolina.

The Litography Project Kickstarter + Call for pitches

New project out of KALW wants your pitches. Details below. Also support their Kickstarter campaign HERE.


The Litography Project is an online map of San Francisco, launching in summer 2014, that plots the city’s literary past, present and future.

We are looking for stories that explore literary culture in San Francisco. We are seeking a variety of stories that will be plotted as points on a map with potential photographs and/or images produced by a designer, depending on the story concept and subject.

Some example topics and structures include:

  • Conversations or short audio tours with authors who live in or have been inspired by San Francisco

  • Profiles of current literary series or events

  • Soundscapes of literary places throughout the city

  • Historical features of specific places or events that shaped San Francisco literature

Pitches should be less than one page in length and include possible interview sources and what you think the piece might sound like (structure, sound, style). Please attach links to any previous work.

If your pitch is accepted, please be prepared to submit a script before any audio. Compensation is $300 fee paid upon submission of the final script and audio files. The Litography Project will create all final mixes. We will need you to provide your actualities, narration and ambient sound along with a rough mix.

You retain all the rights to your work and are free to post or pitch it to other outlets. However we respectfully ask that you wait until it’s been released on The Litography Project website to do so.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Compensation: $300

Contact: thelitographyproject@gmail.com

We are also seeking other kinds of multimedia content as well – if you are interested in submitting writing, photography or illustrations, please get in contact!

Cowbird and SOTRU team up for a new Saga – Small Towns

Great radio program + great online storytelling community = great opportunity for freelancers. Details below.

Cowbird just launched what we call a "Saga" today, a call for stories on a specific issue.  The current saga is about small towns: what makes people stay, leave or return to them.  We're partnering with State of the Re:Union on this one, and the best stories have a shot at being on the show.
So if you have a small town story, we want to hear it!  The site is super easy to use, pretty, and, bonus points, it's free.  It's a great platform for radio makers — you can upload audio that plays alongside a beautiful (floating) picture, you can add text.  And, best of all, you can embed that story basically anywhere, as easily as, say, a YouTube video.  It's like the functionality of Soundcloud … but pretty.  
Details below.  We can't wait to hear your stories!

New Saga : Small Towns
Dear Cowbirders,
Small town America is vanishing.
A hundred years ago, 72% of us lived in small towns. Today? Just 16%. Behind those statistics are thousands of stories. We’re partnering with State of the Re:Union and Hollow to create a narrative tapestry of the rise and fall of rural America, through the eyes of the people who live(d) there, left, or stayed.
If you’ve ever lived in a small town, we want to know: what’s the one thing that made you leave, stay, or return? We’re launching a new saga, Small Towns, to try to answer these questions.
Tell your Small Town story on Cowbird. Start your story with, “The one thing that made me [leave/stay/return]…” Keep your story short (50-250 words), add pictures and/or audio. Before you hit publish, remember two things: add a location, and add your story to the “Small Towns” saga. The best stories will have a shot at ending up on NPR.
Happy storytelling, no matter where you live.
Spring is in the air.
Cowbird

Cowbird. A witness to life.

Digital Curation Internship/Volunteer Opportunity at WFMU

Free Music Archive @ WFMU
Digital Curation Internship & Volunteer Opportunity
Students looking for hands-on experience in the world of digital archives, online audio curation, social media, and music are encouraged to apply to be a Digital Curation Intern or Volunteer at WFMU’s Free Music Archive in Jersey City, NJ.
We accept Interns who are currently enrolled in school. We also welcome Volunteers, no longer in school, who are interested in experience with digital curation.
Responsibilities:
 
Your work as a digital curator may include any of the following depending on your interests and experience: curating audio and video content via the FMA website; cataloguing new additions to the archive using the FMA’s Content Management System (CMS); blog posts and other editorial contributions; curation of relevant online materials through social media channels like Twitter, Facebook and Vimeo; basic audio editing; crafting e-newsletters; soliciting new additions to the archive; assisting with direct licensing projects; independent research projects.
Qualifications:
 
The following skills and/or interests may be helpful, but are not required:

  • Working towards a degree in Library & Information Science or Media/Communications
  • Previous online writing experience and basic HTML
  • Basic audio production skills are a plus
  • Attention to detail & self-motivated commitment to high-quality work
  • Familiarity with copyright law and Creative Commons
  • Enthusiasm for freeform radio, free culture, music, and/or online technology
  • Experience in the independent music world
Terms last about four months and require at least a 8-21 hour/week commitment; The internship takes place at WFMU in Jersey City, NJ. Terms coincide with the academic calendar: roughly September-December, January-April, and May-August.
How to Apply:
 
Send us a resume and cover letter explaining why you would like to intern or volunteer at the FMA and what you hope to gain from your experience. We also ask that you 1) Describe a release on the FMA that you really like, and say why 2) Make us a thematic mix on the FMA, and include a link.
Please submit your application and any questions you may have to contact@freemusicarchive.org.

UC Berkeley Immigration Fellowship for Journalists, deadline March 10

The Changing Face of America: Immigration and the Politics of Reform

Graduate School of Journalism, University of California at Berkeley

May 1-4, 2014

The UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism invites professional print, broadcast, and online journalists in the United States to apply to its fourth annual New York Times Institute on Immigration Reporting. 

The 20 applicants selected as New York Times Fellows will learn about the new dynamics of America’s immigration debate and the country’s changing demographics. Immigration policy continues to be a hot topic this year, with Congress facing increasing pressures in the debate over large-scale legislative reforms. Regardless of what happens in Washington, D.C, it is likely that states and localities will continue to be active on a range of issues from tuition equity for immigrant students to increased local enforcement. 

The intensive four-day training is designed for reporters and editors who have some background on immigration and seek to enhance their knowledge and skills.

The 2014 seminar will focus on the impact of the growing Latino and Asian-American electorate on current immigration reform efforts in Congress. Participants will:

·  Receive hands-on training in demographic analysis and working with Census data on voter registration and turnout;

·  Hear up-to-the-minute assessments of legislation in play in Washington and the power dynamics behind it;

·  Examine this year’s political debate in the context of history, current immigration law, state-federal battles and recent developments in immigration enforcement;

In past years, speakers have included high-ranking Homeland Security officials, immigration judges, leading journalists, scholars, legislators and immigrants themselves. We anticipate a line up of top-notch experts again this year. The institute will draw on its position in California – which has been at the leading edge on many aspects of immigration – and the wealth of resources at the University of California and beyond. Participants will leave the seminar well equipped with new perspectives and insights backed by solid research and data, new sources, essential reporting tools, and story ideas to deepen their coverage and to share with their newsroom colleagues.

The Changing Face of America is a New York Times Institute, supported by a generous grant from the Atlantic Philanthropies. The Institute is co-sponsored by the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy at Berkeley Law.

The application deadline is March 10, 2014. Find more information and apply on the website: http://journalism.berkeley.edu/conf/2014/immigration

Making Contact seeks Community Storytelling Fellow

Hey Bay Area producers/storytellers: Making Contact is looking for a Community Storytelling Fellow. Details below. Send questions to Digital Content and Community Manager Kwan Booth: 
@making_contact


Making Contact is Hiring


Making Contact is a 20 year old, award winning radio show heard weekly on over 140 stations in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Our program is a blend of evocative stories with analysis, and explores the relationship between individuals, groups and systems.

  • We are looking for a highly motivated and passionate individual with a story to tell and connections to grassroots and community issues. We will help you develop your idea and gather audio to build a story that will be broadcast and shared across 140 radio stations nationwide. Fellow will be compensated with a stipend of $125/week for approximately 10 hours of in studio work.