Four types of audio heard in this podcast:
Ambient Sounds are the background noises that give the listener a sense of place or setting. The most common ambient sound heard throughout the episode is the audience clapping or laughing during the performance, these sounds inform the listener that it is a live show.
Interview Clips are recordings of a story's subject that are played to make the story and characters seem more real to the audience, these can be recorded on location or over the phone. This podcast episode has several interview clips including an interview of the producer of the show in 1938, John Houseman, where he explains why the company decided to broadcast this particular science fiction story. There is also an interview included from an eye witness to the rendition of War of Worlds radio show which was broadcasted in Ecuador in 1939 as well as several other interviews incorporated throughout the podcast episode.
Voice Overs are any scripted narrations that are recorded to push a storyline forward. There are several voice overs throughout this episode such as around the 22 minute mark where recordings are played of other people reenacting the conversations that 911 operators had with citizens the night of the broadcast regarding concerns such as alien sitings. A voice over is also played when one of the co-hosts, Jad Abumrad, corrects some of his previous statements made during the live show.
Natural Sounds are "sound effects" that are recorded on location, not in a studio. Natural sounds such as music montages are played throughout this episode such as around minute 20 when a song that has a space theme plays. The song lets the listener reflect on what they heard and builds suspense.
Ira Glass: "Moments of Reflection"
Ira Glass explains that there are two building blocks that are important for stories being aired on television or radio: anecdotes and moments of reflection. He explains that hosts use anecdotes to explain the sequence of actions in the order they occurred to the viewer or listener. He defines a moment of reflection as the moment at the end of the show when the viewer or listener understands why he or she is watching or listening. It is explaining the 'big picture' to the audience. This episode of Radio Lab uses both building blocks in the podcast episode 'War of Worlds.'
The co-hosts uses the first building block, anecdotes, by starting at the beginning of when the story 'War of Worlds' was introduced which was not in 1938 but rather in the late 1800's. They then explain that the book was taught in several schools to young children, they tell the story of when it was first aired on public radio in America, then in aired on radio in Ecuador, and then again in America in Buffalo. They tell the impacts that each event had as they go and even relate these events to other more current events.
The moment of reflection occurs at the end when the co-hosts inform their audience that 'War of Worlds' was later announced in the 1950's, by one of the hosts of the first airing in '38, that the company aired this episode as a kind of lesson to the public. In a way, the producers wanted to tell the public not to believe everything they see or hear in the media. This lesson still applies today due to all of the hyperboles that news reporters use in order the reach higher ratings or get more views.
Cites:
https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/war-worldshttps://www.wnycstudios.org/story/war-worlds
https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2012/10-tips-for-using-audio-more-effectively-in-multimedia-stories/
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