Category Archives: Freelance Cafe East

Freelance Cafe East, Workshops

Springtime Audio Retreat, upstate NY, deadline May 1

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Hi folks. You have a few more weeks to sign up for Jim and Eileen's weekend audio retreat. It promises to be a fun and educational experience. Plus, I'd love to see some of my FC friends at the Saturday BBQ. Contact Eileen McAdam [emcadam@hvc.rr.com] if you have questions about the workshop. And you can write me directly if you want to chat about other things to do in the lovely Hudson Valley!
Best,
Mia
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Sounds, Stories & Springtime
An Audio Retreat

Spend a weekend in the Catskills honing your skills as a sound recordist and storyteller while reinvigorating your creative spirit. Veteran Producers Jim Metzner and Eileen McAdam lead this immersive experience in field recording, listening, and the art of bringing stories to life with sound.

Limited to eight intermediate producers, the workshop offers personal attention and also leaves time for reflection, community, and learning from each other.

Friday night includes a special appearance by musician Steve Gorn, and an evening listening excursion to explore the acoustics of a nearby cave. Saturday night is for storytelling and barbeque!
• Learn to weave a narrative with natural sounds
• Expand your audio palette
• Experiment with binaural, stereo and parabolic microphones
• Crafting a narrative that weaves and contextualizes your sounds.

About your hosts:
Jim Metzner has pioneered the use of sound in radio features and multi-media projects. Best known for his award-winning series Pulse of the Planet. His work has been featured in National Geographic Online, All Things Considered, Marketplace, Weekend Edition, the New York Times, and elsewhere.

Eileen McAdam is the co-founder of the World Sound Foundation and the producer of The Hudson Valley Sound and Story Project, Tales of Two Cities Audio Tour and StoryScape Hudson Valley. She has been a recipient of five major grants

Dates: May 18 – 20.

Cost: $450/person. All meals and Saturday night Barbecue included.

Accommodations: There are local B&B’s throughout the Hudson Valley area. Camping is available at our site.

To register, or for more information, email Eileen McAdam [emcadam@hvc.rr.com] or call 845-338-0464

Attendance limited to 8 intermediate to experienced audio/media producers.

Freelance Cafe East

Announcing Call for Entries for Rough Cuts in June – Deadline is May 30th

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Hi folks. The next round of SF Rough Cut screenings is coming up. Details for submitting your work is below.

Best,
Mia
+++++++++++++++++++++

Wednesday, May 30th is the deadline

to submit to

ROUGH CUTS – June 2012 SERIES
Wednesday, June 20th at 7:30 p.m.

CounterPULSE
1310 Mission Street @ 9th Street, San Francisco
Complimentary drinks and hors d’oeuvres provided
$7 admission

_____________________________________________________

Rough Cuts is a series of work-in-progress documentary screenings that are produced every other month at a variety of locations throughout San Francisco. For each evening, we screen one rough cut of a feature-length documentary and then moderate a conversation about the film. These post-screening discussions are designed to give the filmmaker a better, more objective sense of what is working and not working with his/her film, with particular attention paid to improving the film’s structure and narrative clarity. We hope that the series also provides a welcome space for local filmmakers, film professionals, and fans of documentary film to meet and talk.

We are seeking long-form works with a final running time of 40 minutes or longer. Principal photography should have been completed, and we encourage filmmakers to submit cuts that are in the later stages of post-production (i.e. NOT first or second cuts).

Wednesday, May 30th
Submissions must arrive at CounterPulse by 5:00 p.m. [This is not a postmark deadline.]

Tuesday, June 5th
Selections will be announced and filmmakers will be notified

Wednesday, June 20th
Screening, followed by a discussion led by a guest moderator

To submit, and for more details about Rough Cuts, visit:
http://sfroughcuts.com/

Freelance Cafe East, Gigs

Pulse of the Planet Seeking Stories

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Hey audio folks. I'm thrilled to tell you that Pulse of the Planet is accepting pitches! Details below.

-mia

++++++++++++++++++++++
For those of you who may not be familiar with it, Pulse of the Planet is an award-winning daily two-minute radio series independently produced and distributed to over 200 public and commercial stations. The hallmark of the series is its use of ambient sound. Our stories are often seasonal and evergreen. We "track the rhythms of life on earth", including nature, culture and science as our broad subjects.

A typical story might be a seasonal nature event or traditional celebration of some kind. We also air science stories which may not be seasonal, but which have a sound "hook". Check out pulseplanet.com to get a feeling for the program.

The first step would be to pitch your story ideas: Tell us the subject matter, where it would be taking place, what you'd be recording and who you'd be interviewing. If we're not familiar with your work, you'll need to send us a link to hear a sample of it. We'll respond to the stories that interest us.

If we say yes to your story, we'll send you a set of guidelines and you'd be sending us raw sound and interview files, typically from 30 minutes to an hour of interview, plus sounds. How the sounds relate to the interview will depend upon the subject. We like stories which portray science in action, where we're hearing something interesting and its meaning is explained in the context of the story. To be clear – you'll be sending us raw sound, not a produced piece. In summary – an attractive pitch will have a strong sound component, and a compelling, seasonal subject.

We pay $250/story for raw sounds/interviews as described above which meet our standards, plus travel expenses, when necessary. We'll pay an additional $50 for a log of your sound files (not a transcription, a summary log) and another $50 if you send usable photographs to illustrate the story.

Please send your pitch ideas to pulse@igc.org. I'll be glad to respond to generic questions in comments to this post.

All the Best;
Jim Metzner
pulse@igc.org
http://www.pulseplanet.com

Freelance Cafe East, Workshops

AIR and UnionDocs Unite for Sounds Elemental!, application deadline May 18

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Hey folks. Applications for the next round of the AIR/UnionDocs Sounds Elemental audio intensive are due on May 18. Details below!

-mia

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AIR is excited to announce that our popular Sounds Elemental audio intensives are coming to UnionDocs, a Center for Documentary Art in Brooklyn, NY. 

UnionDocs is a rising force in the creative media-documentary universe offering weekend screenings and events, workshops, as well as a year-long artist fellowship program called the Collaborative. They have an interdisciplinary focus, incorporating audio, film/video, writing, photography, interactive and other forms. Like AIR, their programs touch hundreds of media-makers each year, and the partnership represents a natural trajectory and an opportunity for their respective constituencies to further cross-pollinate and grow. 

The application window is open now and competition for slots can be stiff. AIR accepts only 10 producers for each of our two 2012 sessions: Sounds Elemental: Magnetism, held June 25-29, 2012 and Sounds Elemental: Gravity, held December 17-21, 2012. 

>Deadline to apply for the June intensive is May 18.<<

Learn more and find the application here:
http://airmedia.org/PageInfo.php?PageID=562

Producers benefit from intensely individualized attention from sound artists-teachers Brenda Hutchinson, composer and installation artist Michael Schumacher, and UnionDocs’ own, Christopher Allen. New York Times deputy news editor Amy O’Leary leads an afternoon dive into storytelling and audio slideshows, a session that producers have called "enriching" and "inspiring."  

These intensives are designed to provide mid to advanced level media producers with a unique opportunity to spend an entire week exploring unconventional approaches to assembling sound. Over the week, there will be a combination of lectures on the history and landscape of contemporary sound art (think John Cage to Brian Eno to Pauline Oliveros), group discussion and critique, and hands-on “lab” time where students will create a short audio piece inspired by the theme of Magnetism or Gravity. 

+++Please note: The aim of this intensive is to inspire new ways of thinking about and approaching non-narrative audio craft, with the hope that will open new thinking and approaches for you in your everyday work. Please go here to learn more about the curriculum; we encourage questions in advance to ensure this course is the right match for you.+++

The cost is $700. A non-refundable $350 deposit is required upon acceptance. You do not have to be a member of AIR to apply. AIR members living outside of New York City who are accepted are eligible for a stipend (up to $150) to help underwrite the cost of the intensive and travel to NYC. 

++Full attendance is mandatory. If you are unable to attend each day of the intensive, please do not apply. Class meets from 10AM – 6PM, Monday through Friday.++ 

>Deadline to apply for the June intensive is May 18.<<

Learn more and find the application here:
http://airmedia.org/PageInfo.php?PageID=562

Questions? Contact Membership Director Erin Mishkin at erin@airmedia.org. 

About UnionDocs – www.uniondocs.org
UnionDocs (UnDo) is a Center for Documentary Art that generates and shares big ideas. We bring together a diverse community of experimental media-makers, dedicated journalists, critical thinkers, and local partners on a search for urgent expressions of the human experience, practical perspectives on the world today, and compelling visions for the future.

About AIR – www.airmedia.org
AIR is a vibrant, tightly networked association of more than 800 journalists, documentarians, technicians, media entrepreneurs, and sound artists spanning 46 states and 14 countries worldwide. Founded in 1988, AIR has emerged as force for identifying, cultivating, and deploying talent to accelerate public media innovation and expand service to more citizens across the U.S. AIR's mentorship and training programs, unique in the industry, were launched in 1995 with a grant from the MacArthur Foundat

Freelance Cafe East, Gigs

call for pitches from Latitude News

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Latitude News is seeking freelance radio folks to help bring another layer of rich storytelling to their site. Details and contact info below.

-mia

+++++++++++++++++++++

Latitude News is looking for radio reporters who can make strong connections between local/national and international stories. We publish text stories with strong audio clips as a supplement – audio is used to add another dimension to a text article. This is an opportunity for radio producers who would like to get some “print” experience while still working on audio, and you need not be traveling the world to contribute to our growing website.

Latitude News tells “international” stories in an unconventional way – we start by listening on the ground in the US, then finding international parallels. We also feature stories that highlight surprising connections between the US and the rest of the world.

Audio in Latitude News features (500-1200 words) should act like well-placed photos in a magazine article – clips don’t tell the entire story, but move the narrative forward and give it depth. Potential contributors should read through our website before pitching, but here are a few samples of stories that feature audio:

Unlike Netherlands, U.S. gives no shelter to sex trafficking victims

One Syrian activist’s lonely exile

Far from Moscow, Putin’s power faces off with the grassroots

Submissions can be sent to jack@latitudenews.com with the heading “Submission.” Rates available upon request.  

Events, Freelance Cafe East

Upcoming Events at UnionDocs, Brooklyn

1 Comment

Hey all. There are a bunch of great events coming up at UnionDocs in Brooklyn. Details below!

-mia
+++++++++++++++++++

Future Events at UnionDocs:



Saturday, April 14th at 7:30pm. Free and open to the public.

Over 60 students have crafted short docs that lovingly explore the many faces and stories of New York City —from B-boys to nannies, cab drivers to urban farmers, and subway buskers to church tower bell-ringers. This program offers a glimpse of that work and invites audiences to come see the latest crop of DocStudies’ student work at the New School.

When Documentary met Data


Sunday, April 15th at 7:30pm. $9 suggested donation.


We live in a world drenched in data, providing a new seam of content for documentary. With the latest version of the web coding language HTML5, data can also now be connected to video content in new ways. So how are documentary makers responding to these creative possibilities? What storytelling possibilities are emerging around these new resources? Jigar Mehta, (18 Days in Egypt), Laura Kurgan (Spatial Information Design Lab), and Fabien Streit, (Upian) in attendance for presentation and discussion with scholar-artist Mandy Rose.


Coming up next weekend: 

Capturing Palestine: Witnessing and Storytelling with Michael Kennedy

Friday, April 6 at 7:30pm. $9 suggested donation.

Can the photographer, researcher, artist, journalist, human rights worker or activist meet the demands of objectivity and proof required in the documentation of rights abuses and still take the miraculous seriously? Photographer and scholar Michael Kennedy will try to answer this question while exploring the disturbing death of a young boy at the West Bank village of Iraq Burin.

 

Coming up this weekend: 

Master Class: Kim Longinotto on Documentary Filmmaking

Friday, March 30 at 7:00pm. $15. 


Critically acclaimed, Peabody, Sundance, Cannes, and BAFTA award-winning documentary filmmaker Kim Longinotto (Rough Aunties, Sisters in Law), will give a special Master Class for documentry filmmakers. Longinotto will share clips, documentary techniques, working experiences, as well as craft and process from her 30+ year career as a documentarian.

Remakes and Reverse Shots: Amie Siegel in conversation with Michael Almereyda

Saturday, March 31th at 7:30pm. $9 suggested donation.


Amie Siegel joins us to present The Sleepers, a film that voyeuristically explores the space between cinema and architecture, sceerning alongside Siegel’s recent film which intertwines histories of cinema and architecture with the cinematic gesture of the remake serving as an uncanny reflection on gender, history and the production of images.

Same as the Old Boss: On the Very Rich History of the Right

Sunday, April 1th at 7:30 pm, $9 suggested donation

In a conversation moderated by journalist Christian Parenti, political scientist Corey Robin will speak with leftist economist (and former conservative) Doug Henwood about the history of reactionary theory, the creation of the right wing, and the role of the ruling class in fostering the conservative movement.

UNIONDOCS.ORG
322 Union Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11211
347.820.3213

Freelance Cafe East

Narrative Magazine winter story contest, deadline March 31

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Hey folks. Last few days to submit your material for Narrative Magazine's winter story contest. Details below.
-mia

++++++++++++++++++++++
ENTER TODAY
CONTEST FINAL WEEK.
Deadline: Saturday, March 31, at midnight, PDT.

• $2,500 First Prize
• $1,000 Second Prize
• $500 Third Prize
• Ten finalists receive $100 each.

The Contest is open to all writers, and all entries will be considered for publication.

See the Guidelines.

New and emerging writers account for more than a third of the hundreds of writers whom Narrative publishes each year, and the new writers appear prominently alongside today’s most- recognized authors.

Read our recent winners, including a stunning first fiction by Gabriel Tallent and great new stories by emerging writers such as Kirsten Clodfelter, Brian Trapp, and Amy Parker.

Prior winners and finalists have gone on to win other contests, to publish acclaimed books, and to win awards from the Pushcart Prize, New Stories from the South, the Atlantic, and others. View some recent awards won by our writers.

 
SIX-WORD STORIES | RSS | NARRATIVE BACKSTAGE | A Nonprofit Publication
Freelance Cafe East

call for entries SEJ Annual Awards for Reporting on the Environment, deadline April 2

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Call for entries for the annual SEJ Awards for Environmental Reporting. Details HERE and below. Deadline April 2.

-mia


+++++++++++++++++++++

Deadline to enter: April 2, 2012

Instructions for Entering:

 

NEWS!  SEJ has added a category for Photojournalism. See below for a full description.

Below you will find the definitions for  SEJ's 2012 categories.  When you have selected the appropriate category for your entry, prepare the materials you will need for entering. Once your materials are assembled, click the name of the category (below) to open the online form. Follow the instructions on the form.  Some fields have instructions written below them. Please take note of all instructions!

Materials needed:

• PDFs* or links to each story, commentary or photo

• Publication or air date for each story, commentary or photo
• Cover letter 

• Team contact sheet if you do a group entry
• Broadcast transcript if you enter radio or television stories, of if your online entry includes audio/video components

• Credit card for immediate online payment. (You can opt to send a check on the online payment site.)

* 15MB max file size. Multiple PDFs for one day must be combined. See Help with low-resolution or combined PDFs 

If you are unable to reduce your file to 15MB, email Awards Director Chris Rigel or call her at (502) 641-1844.

Each entry requires a cover letter in electronic format, either .doc, docx, PDF, .html, or .txt file to be uploaded into the online form.

Book entries: Enter the contest using the online entry form below. After submitting your form and payment, ship four copies of your book and a copy of the cover letter with the author's name and contact info to Chris Rigel, Director of Awards (address below). Note: even if you ship your entries, you must still complete an online form, including the uploaded cover letter.

Print entries: low-resolution PDF or html files of your entry stories. (Check your category for the allowable number of stories and other details.) (Help with low-resolution or combined PDFs) If you are unable to supply links or low-res PDFs, you may ship four copies of your entries to SEJ with a cover letter including the entrant's name and contact information. Be sure to follow the preparation rules. Note: even if you ship your entries, you must still complete an online form, including the uploaded cover letter.

Online and broadcast entries: web links to Internet pages where your television, radio or online news story can be viewed or listened to. (Check your category for the allowable number of stories and other details.) If you are unable to supply links, you may ship four copies of your entries to SEJ with a cover letter including the entrant's name and contact information. Be sure to follow the preparation rules. Note: even if you ship your entries, you must still complete an online form, including the uploaded cover letter.

Shipping address:

SEJ Awards
C/O Chris Rigel, Awards Director

186 North Bellaire Ave
Louisville, KY 40206

Follow the preparation rules for preparing your entries for shipping. Shipped entries that are incorrectly prepared will not be sent to judges. Please pay special attention to the instructions, since your payment is non-refundable.

 

ENTRY FEES

 After completing your entry form, the payment site will open. Please pay your fee immediately after submitting your entry form. For those needing to pay by check, the payment site includes a check option. Your entry will not be processed for judging until payment is received. 

$40 Member Rate

You must already be a member of SEJ to enter at the member rate. If you are unsure of your membership status, please contact SEJ at sej@sej.org or (215) 884-8174.

$60 Prospective Member Rate

To enter SEJ's awards contest at this rate, you must complete a membership application. (After you click the link, scroll down until you see the maps: In North America and Outside North America. Click on the appropriate map to open the membership application. Please note on your application in the comments field at the end that you are applying for membership with your contest entry.) After completing the application, return to this page to complete your entry.

This special discounted $60 fee is only for non-members who are joining SEJ for the first time. It covers your first year of membership (discounted) as well as the contest fee. 

$100 Non-member Rate

CAUTION!

As you complete the awards entry form, be sure to fill in all required fields. If you miss one, the files you've uploaded will not "stick." Your other information will remain intact, but you'll have to upload your cover letter and other files again.

You can recognize required fields by the red asterisk for all fields except upload fields. Uploaded cover letters ARE REQUIRED FOR ALL ENTRIES.

AWARDS CATEGORIES

Deadline to enter: April 2

Read the descriptions carefully, then click on the name of the category you want to enter to open the corresponding entry form. Have your electronic files and web links ready.

CLICK TO ENTER: Kevin Carmody Award for Outstanding In-depth Reporting, Large Market: An investigative or explanatory feature or series on a single environmental topic, published between March 1, 2011, and Feb. 29, 2012. Related stories published on the same day count as one part. TV & Radio stories must not exceed 60 minutes; Print and Online series must not exceed five parts. Multimedia links may be included in the cover letter. Eligibility: Print media: circulation of 200,000 or more; TV & Radio: national networks in the U.S. and elsewhere and top 10 markets in the U.S. as determined by Nielsen; Online: sites with 1 million or more monthly unique visitors. Cover letters must include a description of the reporting's impact.

CLICK TO ENTER: Kevin Carmody Award for Outstanding In-depth Reporting, Small Market: An investigative or explanatory feature or series on a single environmental topic, published between March 1, 2011, and Feb. 29, 2012. Related stories published on the same day count as one part. TV & Radio stories must not exceed 60 minutes; Print and Online series must not exceed five parts. Multimedia links may be included in the cover letter. Eligibility: All outlets and publications falling outside the large-market definition. Cover letters must include a description of the reporting's impact.

CLICK TO ENTER: Outstanding Beat Reporting, Large Market: Up to five broadcast or published news reports and/or commentary on a broad range of environmental topics published between March 1, 2011, and Feb. 29, 2012. Entry must be the work of an individual, either alone or with a small supporting team. Related stories published or aired on the same day count as one story. Broadcast entries must have a combined total running time of no more than 60 minutes. Eligibility: Print media: circulation of 200,000 or more; TV & Radio: national networks in the U.S. and elsewhere and top 10 markets in the U.S. as determined by Nielsen; Online: sites with 1 million or more monthly unique visitors.

CLICK TO ENTER: Outstanding Beat Reporting, Small Market: Up to five broadcast or published news reports and/or commentary on a broad range of environmental topics published between March 1, 2011, and Feb. 29, 2012. Entry must be the work of an individual, either alone or with a small supporting team. Related stories published or aired on the same day count as one story. TV & Radio entries must have a combined total running time of no more than 60 minutes. Eligibility: All TV, Radio, Print and Online publications falling outside the large-market definition.

CLICK TO ENTER: Rachel Carson Environment Book Award: A nonfiction book, published between January 1 and December 31, 2011, covering an environmental topic. Memoirs and picture books are not eligible.

CLICK TO ENTER: Outstanding Feature Story: One environmental feature or commentary published between March 1, 2011,  and Feb. 29, 2012. Multi-part stories, sidebars and other supplemental material are prohibited.  Eligibility: All TV, Radio, Print and Online entities.

CLICK TO ENTER: Outstanding Photography: Up to five photographs on one or more environmental topics, published between March 1, 2011 and Feb. 29, 2012. Only photos published as photojournalism will be accepted. Entered photos must not be manipulated or digitally enhanced in a way that changes the content and/or context of the image. A caption that describes the event or situation captured in the photograph must be included for each photo entered. Photos must be submitted as jpeg files, maximum 2MB.

Back to the main Awards page.

Events, Freelance Cafe East

upcoming events at UnionDocs

2 Comments

A few announcements and events from UnionDocs in Brooklyn.

-mia

+++++++++++++++++++++

Call for Entries: Gaze Looking for Works made by Women
by UnionDocs

Former UnionDocs Programmer Mallary Abel is working with GAZE on a film series dedicated to screening independent film and video made by women. GAZE promotes women’s artistic expression and… more»

Call for Video Fellow: Five Borough Farm

by UnionDocs

  The Design Trust seeks a Video Fellow to produce between three to six high-quality, web-based videos (each three minutes or less) that will serve as advocacy and education tools for… more»

Gardener on the Roof: Examining Urban Farming 

Saturday, March 24th at 7:30pm

Examined Waterways with J.P. Sniadecki and Sarah J. Christman

Sunday, March 25 at 7:30pm
Freelance Cafe East, Gigs

BackStory radio call for Pitches

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BackStory, a new show on American History, is seeking story ideas. Details below!

-mia

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Backstory

Each week, the show chooses a topic and tells stories, conducts interviews, and shares insight on how that topic has played out through American history. We’re looking for features that have a couple key components: First, a story. Your characters might be alive, or they might be long dead. Either way, you should still have some character(s) with something at stake. Second, when pitching your story, think about ways to bring these characters to life. We’re open to re-enactments, experts telling the story second hand, oral histories, all the typical stuff. But don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Questions we’re always going to ask are: Why did this happen when it happened? What does this reveal about America at the time? Why should we care about that now? Most of themes will have a news peg of some sort. You can see some of the themes we plan to produce at our independent producers page: http://backstoryradio.org/producers/
show: one hour/weekly
segments: 2-8 minutes

compensation: $200 – $500+ depending on difficulty and skill of the producer. All the rates below are flexible, but are meant to give you a sense of what we offer.
Level 1 Piece: $200-$350
– May include a snapshot essay of a particular moment in history, typically with simple production requirements.
– May be a shorter, 2-3 minute sound rich “audio postcard” style piece.

Level 2 Piece: $350 -$450
– Medium length story with at least one interview and some reporting.
– May include some field tape. Probably requires little travel
Level 3 Piece: $450 – Negotiable
– Longer feature with multiple interviews.

– Significant research and creative use of sound and/or content.
pitch: Email Associate Producer, Eric Mennel at EMennel@Virginia.edu, with the word “PITCH:” in your title. The more concise your pitch, the better. Include what, if any, sources you would use in your story and how you would produce them. Also include what you think this piece would sound like (field tape, scoring, effects, readings, those kinds of things). We understand we’re a new show, so we won’t be offended if you compare it to something you might hear on another radio show. We’re open to non-narrated features, written essays, and reported pieces. You don’t need to have worked in radio or history to pitch, but if you can give us a sense of your experience (radio or otherwise), please do, and include a couple of links to your best stuff.
contact: Eric Mennel, Associate Producer: EMennel@virginia.edu (email preferred)

phone: 434-924-4403
mailing address: 145 Ednam Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22903
website: http://www.BackstoryRadio.org