Back to All Events

Oral History & Radio Documentary


For those interested in bringing your oral histories to the airwaves, this four-day intensive workshop covers the fundamentals of radio storytelling, focusing primarily on the editing process that occurs after you have collected your interviews. Students will learn how to conceptualize and develop a story for radio, as well as how to edit and assemble interview tape and incorporate additional sound, such as music, to really make a story sing. We will listen to a range of storytelling styles and find the right form for the story you want to tell.

The workshop will include one-on-one editorial sessions as well as group listening and feedback sessions. Depending on experience and facility with editing software, some students may expect to finish their radio piece by the end of the workshop. All students, however, will leave the workshop with the skills and editorial direction to finish their piece independently. Note: Experience with audio or video editing software is highly recommended, but not required. We will be providing instruction on software, but students enrolling in this workshop should possess a high degree of competence and comfort with computers. Students will have the chance to share their documentaries-in-progress on Columbia & Greene Counties’ community radio station, WGXC.

This workshop is appropriate for would-be radio producers, podcasters, bloggers, filmmakers, audiophiles, and writers, among others.

Earlier Event: June 13
Oral History Intensive