Over and over again, email after email, people want to know: What was that music? The people that choose music for NPR news shows are the directors. Choosing music is only a small part of a very complicated job, something like being an air traffic controller, being a DJ, and doing it at the same time.
Now it's time to let those who pick the music play their favorites. Give a listen as directors of Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Day to Day and the weekend programs pick the best of the buttons.
-- Bob Boilen
Looking for a specific button you heard on air? Find it using our help section.
"Before coming to NPR I was a record store manager and buyer (1974).
After nearly 10 years in the record business, I ran screaming, bought an
ARP Odyssey synthesizer (1979), helped shape a psychedelic dance band
called Tiny Desk Unit and started a record label. When all that fun
imploded I joined a multimedia theater company (1981), Impossible Theater,
composed music, programmed slide projectors and other cool tech stuff. I
did television production for some money. In 1988 I dropped my music
making and television and decided that I had to work at NPR. I'd show up
every day and ask if anyone needed help. Within a year I was directing
All Things Considered (16 years later I still am) and I consider myself
very fortunate. With help I created this show All Songs Considered in
2000."
If you are interested in knowing more about how Bob picks the music for All Things Considered you can also read from our Frequently Asked Questions.
About Carline Watson:
"I studied political science and journalism as an undergrad at Howard University, then went to Journalism School at Columbia because I had this weird idea that I like the news. I applied for an internship at NPR in my senior year as an undergrad and was turned down. Then after graduate school, I interviewed for several television production jobs and decided that I really didn't want to be in television. I started looking for work with 'a network similar to the BBC' since the BBC World Service is what I grew up hearing. A journalism professor at the University of Maryland who is my mentor, suggested that I see if there were any openings at NPR. I applied for a job at Weekend Edition Sunday, they hired me as an editorial assistant; I made the transition to production assistant within a year and the rest, as they say, is history."
"About ten years ago, I escaped from a PhD program in political science at UW Madison into community radio at WORT where I learned how to mix music, find unusual songs in a huge CD collection and find cool tidbits about history. I started at NPR in 1997 and started directing in 2001 just in time to direct a couple of long live shows after the 9/11 attacks. Some little tidbit about me? I started doing tae kwon do after we did a feature on Dick Dale and he raved about the art. (His son is a big deal among six-year-old martial artists)."
About Susan Stone:
"I came to NPR nine years ago from graduate school where I studied the media
and culture. I started directing the show Sounds Like Science 1998, and have
directed off and on since then. I've worked as a producer or reporter
for every desk and every show at NPR in my time here. I love working
with music, and also produce a segment for Weekend All Things Considered
called 'What Are You Listening To.'"
"I have been back-up director for Morning Edition since March of 2004. Choosing music for each segment has been one of the highlights and challenges of my day. Music is an art, which makes its impact even as it bypasses the listener's rational and analytical thought process. I believe that the music one chooses enhances and echoes the tone of the piece and adds depth to the meaning of each story. In addition to my responsibility as a back-up director, I am an Assistant Producer with Morning Edition. I also host a talk show on WEAA 88.9 FM in Baltimore on the weekends and play the piano during my leisure time."
About Sarah Mobley Smith:
"I'm an associate producer/director and began as an editorial assistant at NPR's Morning Edition 13 years ago. I began this phase of my career during the Gulf War, when NPR was on M Street. Before coming to NPR, I worked as a copy editor and accounts receivable manager for a magazine publishing company in Baltimore. I've also worked as a news anchor for commercial radio stations in Baltimore and as a reporter/anchor in Frederick, Maryland. My Morning Edition directing debut was in April 2004. A month later, I was granted a leave of absence to produce a five-part series for member station WYPR in Baltimore on the 50th anniversary of Brown versus Board of Education. This July I returned to Morning Edition as one of the back-up directors. I've always had a passion for music and enjoy being able to share my love for it with millions of listeners. Growing up, my family exposed me to all types of music. As a child, I played violin and that experience has had a lasting effect on my personal preference in musical selections."
"I worked in the programming department at PBS, but I loved radio SO much
that I gave up my job in public television to INTERN at NPR. That was
1989. Except for a few years at home with my kids, I've been here ever
since. Directing is my favorite thing to do in all of radio --
everything from picking the music to pointing the finger. I've been
doing it since 1997, and plan to keep on until they kick me out of the
chair."
Phil Harrell, Associate Producer with Weekend Edition Sunday, joined NPR
after programming one of the last commercial, free-form radio stations in
the country - WRNR in Annapolis, Maryland. He joined NPR in 1998 as an
assistant assigned to produce special evening coverage of the Bill
Clinton impeachment hearings. He also worked with Weekly Edition,
Weekend All Things Considered and Performance Today. Harrell joined the
staff of Weekend Edition Sunday in August of 2000. Since then, Brian
Naylor almost killed him in a kayak, his foot fell asleep during a Clint
Eastwood interview (which caused him to collapse while approaching the
actor), he momentarily lost all of the footage from a week-long
reporting trip to South Dakota, and he almost got arrested while
covertly recording a slot machine in a Canadian casino.
Since joining NPR, Phil Harrell has won nothing. If you have any awards
to give him, please do.
About Ned Wharton:
As music director of Weekend Edition Sunday, Ned Wharton supervises music continuity for the show, keeps tabs on what's new and noteworthy in the music world and produces many of the artist features heard on the program. Wharton also presents occasional reviews of new releases on a segment called "Directors Cuts" on Weekend Edition Sunday . For Wharton, "NPR, and specifically Weekend Edition Sunday, offers some of the finest music profiles heard on any broadcast medium."
"No music background, no obsessively cataloged music collection. I come from a news background (directors are also part of their shows' production staffs...we do more than choose music!), having worked as a reporter and host in Berkeley. I started working at NPR in 1997, started directing in 1998. A little tidbit about me...I'm on Susan's Stamberg's 'NPR met and married list,' I believe at number 52. I met the love of my life, Audio Engineering Manager Shawn Fox, at NPR and we were married in 2001. In 2002 we moved left D.C. to help launch NPR West in Los Angeles."
