NPR: Pilot This!

Pilot This!

Michel Martin explains the idea of a pilot segment at the Rough Cuts daily editorial meeting.

So now we're getting closer... closer... closer.

This week we reach a milestone: We're going to produce our first "pilot." These are demo shows that we produce and distribute to member stations to help them decide whether to pick up the program. OK, who are we kidding? We only want to "help" them decide one thing: yes.

We want them to pant for it.
We want them to fight over it.

So we're trying to make it as strong as can be??? and that's where we are going to put our energies this week (check out our behind-the-scenes pics). We've been posting two or three segments a week, but this week we're just going to put up a feature on Thursday (one, in particular, I think you'll like -- if I say so myself. More on that later in the week).

And, yes, we will post the pilots at some point -- at least some of the segments. As usual, we want to know what you think. It will be a bit rough (as in "Rough" Cuts) because we don't have a final music score and we're still working out some details, like how the intros and the little breaks between segments should sound. But we're getting there. Keep your fingers crossed and thanks for all the help, encouragement and tough love so far.

Speaking of help: Do you belong to a book club? What are you reading right now? We are very interested in having book clubs as a regular segment -- featuring book clubs and what the club members are reading, author interviews and all of that. But we want to know: What's hot right now?

We are especially curious to know if you are reading books that speak in some way to the multicultural experience. The nontraditional. Earlier this year, we interviewed author Rebecca Walker who wrote the intro to a collection of short stories called Mixed, a collection of short fiction by mixed-race writers. That would be a good one. I know there are book clubs that explore interfaith dialogue (I know because I did a story on one). What are you reading? Let us know??? and do we even need to say it? We get the impression that most book clubs are by and for women. But men -- we love you, too -- if you have a book club, tell us what you've got on your list.

And finally... we still haven't found our "Diversity Coach" -- someone who can help us with a segment on how to smooth out the kinks in multicultural, interpersonal relations. If you've ever had an etiquette class or a protocol class or read a column by somebody whose advice impressed you in this area, won't you drop us a line?

Michel Martin

5:46 PM ET | 02-27-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

Would you cover Sammy Davis Jr.s book, "Photo by Sammy Davis Jr."?

Sent by Darrell Taylor | 7:06 AM ET | 02-28-2007

Our book club in Exeter, New Hampshire has decided to dedicate the entire year to Contemporary World Literature, which we have defined as books written by authors from outside America and published anytime after 1980. We just finished "Family Matters" by Rohinton Mistry (India) and now we're reading "The Bone People" by Keri Holme (New Zealand). We've done Kirin Desai's Booker Prize-winning "The Inheritance of Loss" (India) and we've got books by an Israeli author (A.B. Yehoshua), an Irish writer (Edna O'Brien) and another Indian (Anita Desai) coming up. On our If There's Time list ("extra credit") we've got Orhan Pamuk ("The Black Book") and Karen Armstrong, the British writer of theology and religion.

Sent by amy selwyn | 12:05 PM ET | 02-28-2007

Re: Book Group. We are currently reading "On Beauty" and just read "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" both with diversity-related themes.

Sent by Ellen Forman | 12:38 PM ET | 02-28-2007

We also read "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan." Our next book is "The Glass Castle" by Jeanette Walls, which a lot of people seem to be reading. It's an amazing memoir of her childhood.

Sent by Mary Maguire | 5:28 PM ET | 02-28-2007

I am from Australia and I just wanted to say that you have a brilliant program. I receive your podcast each week & I find it very informative. I enjoyed the interview with the old college friend of Barak Obamas and the piece on Guinea was extremely interesting. Please keep it up & good luck with your new interview project. I will look forward to that as well.

Sent by Adrian | 6:08 PM ET | 02-28-2007

I hope you and the baby are well. I've been reading "rough cuts" and saw your solicitation for book clubs, so I thought I'd email to tell you about mine. (I'll also post these comments on the website.)

I sponsor the Cardozo High School ???Book Honeyz??? (as they like to refer to themselves). We read both high brow (January???s ???Taming of the Shrew???) and low-low (Sista Soulja???s ???The Coldest Winter Ever???). The recent dustup surrounding Oprah Winfrey???s comments about American students not being interested in learning lead me to believe that more snapshots are needed of these kids. I think your audience would find their discussions fascinating (and terrifying). The girls are always candid, and frankly, after every gathering, I???m left wondering how they???re able to endure. Not that they don???t get swept up by their circumstances. Already two of my girls are pregnant--our last gathering doubled as a baby shower. My academic star is so dazed by the college admissions process that she???s all but given up on going anywhere but UDC. These aren???t dumb girls. They???re in AP English! There they get the literary nuts and bolts--metaphors, allusions, et. al--while the emphasis at our meetings is on embracing the stories. As you can see from our reading list below, each selection has featured an ethnically diverse teenage heroine in whom my students can find solace, inspiration and companionship as they seek to escape a cycle of abjection.

I also use the book club as an opportunity to expose the girls to different kinds of people. I try to find someone who???s had similar experiences to those of the main characters. In January, it was a friend who attended boarding school in England and could wax philosophical about Shakespeare. In February, I invited two single moms who overcame poverty and violent relationships to forge impressive careers.

ON OUR WAY TO BEAUTIFUL - (Yolanda Young) 10/19

BREATH, EYES, MEMORY - (Edwidge Dandicat) 11/16

HOUSE ON MANGO STREET - (Susan Cisneros) 12/21

TAMING OF THE SHREW - (William Shakespeare) 1/18

THE COLDEST WINTER EVER - (Sister Soulja) 2/22

BRICK LANE - (Monica Ali) 4/19

LIAR???S CLUB - (Mary Karr) 5/17

THE FLEDGLING (Octavia Butler) - 6/21

Sent by Yolanda Young | 11:57 AM ET | 03-01-2007

I am not in a bookclub, although I would like to (I just don't have time). As for what I am reading: I just finished "Born in Death" (murder mystery by JD Robb aka Nora Roberts). My next book will likely be C.S. Lewis's "Mere Christianity".

And, since you mentined it, I will point out again that I definetly don't like the "Diversity Coach" thing. It's just kind of silly.

Sent by Scott K | 2:22 PM ET | 03-01-2007

I just started a "bridging differences" monthly bookclub in my town and can recommend Richard Powers' "The Time of Our Singing" as a brilliant look at race in this country...

Sent by patti digh | 8:37 AM ET | 03-07-2007

I love this podcast. And this show. It is insightful, informative and smart. I was waiting for NPR to step to the plate with a show that has an urban feel and this is it.

Thanks,

P.S. I like the on the street interviews. Continue to do that segment.

Sent by Annisha | 9:34 AM ET | 03-08-2007

This month our book club is reading "March" by Geraldine Brooks. As a companion to it, we are also reading "Little Women" by Lousia May Alcott, as Brooks' novel is about Mr. March serving in the Union Army. His abolitionism is the major dramatic propellant of the work. We read books in pairs, which seems to make for a livelier discussion.

Sent by Betty Francis | 2:41 PM ET | 03-13-2007

Hmm, I've been listening to many of your podcasts and I thought I'd send in some comments. While I've enjoyed many, the experimental nature has meant that they are so different that I can't say whether I like the entire concept or not. But here are some things I've noticed. First -- I think sometimes you cut the dead space in conversations a bit too much. I need time to process in my head! And if you're not cutting it (even though it sounds like you are), I think the conversation is sometimes too fast. Second, I like the focus on black culture and "the continent". But if you're going for something more general than that, it's clear that you ARE focused on black culture and afro-centric news that is not normally covered in more general broadcasts. It's also clear that you know the community really well and can draw in some great voices that are new and interesting. And so I begin to wonder if this might work even better with multiple hosts. Maybe one with a focus on the asian culture, one on central america, one on south america, one on eastern europe, one on canada, etc etc. It would be great to have multiple, knowledgeable hosts working on parallel stories, combining some, competing on others, working to make a really informative alternative show. If this were done well, I would know that I always want to catch Tuesday's show, and that Thursday's was pretty good, too, and with cross-pollination, I'd eventually want to listen all week. So, just some of the thoughts that have gone through my head as I've listened over the past couple of months.

Sent by Theresa Wishes | 5:35 PM ET | 03-14-2007

Send a Comment

Comments are reviewed and edited by NPR prior to display. All comments will be read, but not all will be posted.

NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its Web site or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.

E-mail this Page

Recipient's e-mail address:	» Up to twelve addresses, separated by commas.
Your e-mail address:
Your name:
Personal message (optional, 600 characters max):
Your NPR member station:
Are you a member of your local NPR station?	Yes No
Would you like to receive information from your local NPR member station? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No
May we contact you with information about NPR programming and services? (see NPR's privacy policy)	Yes No

(Information collected by NPR will be used solely for internal NPR or NPR member station purposes and only if you selected 'yes' above. See NPR's privacy policy for more information.)

E-mail Updates from the Tell Me More Blog

Share Your Story

What would it take to get your vote? Share text, audio or video.

'Tell Me More' with Michel Martin

"Nothing is assumed." That's the unofficial motto of Tell Me More, the new Monday-Friday talk show with host Michel Martin. Grounded in lively interviewing and compelling storytelling, the program seeks to present diverse new voices, cross borders, challenge conventional wisdom and discover how other people think.