It took, for me, a long time to develop this idea of what to do on the radio. But from the beginning of my time in radio, I had pretty non-traditional tasks.
Ira GlassRead
I think good radio often uses the techniques of fiction: characters, scenes, a big urgent emotional question. And as in the best fiction, tone counts for a lot.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Good radio storytelling employs techniques similar to fiction, emphasizing emotional depth and tone.
Ira Glass highlights that effective radio, like great fiction, relies on narrative techniques such as character development, evocative scenes, and pressing emotional questions. The importance of tone in storytelling is also emphasized, suggesting that the way a story is told can greatly influence its impact on the audience.
Themes
RadioStorytellingFictionNarrativeEmotionTone
In practice
Example use cases
In a podcast about personal journeys, this quote can be used to explain the importance of storytelling.
More from Ira Glass
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It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions.
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It's hard to make something that's interesting. It's really, really hard. It's like a law of nature, a law of aerodynamics, that anything that's written or anything that's created wants to be mediocre. The natural state of all writing is mediocrity... So what it takes to make anything more than mediocre is such an act of will.
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I wish that someone had said to me that it's normal to feel lost for a little while.
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When I was a bad writer, I would consciously imitate other NPR writers who I thought were wonderful. I suppose that everyone's artistic practice is different. But I collaborate and sometimes don't agree at all with my collaborators' opinions. It forces you to understand why you don't agree with something: what's the fight you're picking.
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