BackStory is now accepting pitches for the following shows (dates in parentheses are dates by which all tape would be due):
Satire (7/24): In honor of Jon Stewart’s departure from the Daily Show, we’re looking at satire throughout the centuries. Why is something funny in one era but not another? How does changing media technology affect satire? When has satire been subversive — and when has it reinforced the status quo? We are definitely not limiting ourselves to political satire on this one, and are open to stories with a big ‘humor’ angle as long as there’s some element of satire in there somewhere. As always, stories from the colonial period are slightly harder to come by, so those would be appreciated.
Fire (8/14): This will be pegged to the ‘fire season’ out west. It will likely shape up to be a more open show (like our Water, Islands, and Speed shows), but we’ll want to look at cultural changes-over-time as well as fantastic stand alone stories. A note: we don’t want to conflate light with fire on this one (so a story about lightbulbs probably wouldn’t work), but if there’s something interesting to say about the handoff from fire to electricity, you might convince us.
Here’s a link to the pitch page of our web site, for info about what makes a good BackStory pitch: http://backstoryradio.org/producers/
BackStory is especially interested in stories that get out of the studio — that is, site-specific and sound-rich stories from around the country. Include what, if any, sources you would use in your story and how you would produce them. Give us an idea about what you imagine your piece would sound like (field tape, scoring, effects, readings, etc.). We’re open to non-narrated features, written essays, and reported pieces. Three to 10 minutes in length is ideal.
Email Associate Producer Kelly Jones at <khjones at virginia dot edu>, with “PITCH:” in your subject line. I’ll do my best to be in touch with you within a week of receiving your pitch.