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I’ve got a good one from the Sound School archive today. An episode from 2018. The backstory to a piece about immigration by NPR reporter John Burnett. John  dissects how he created visual storytelling with just his writing – no tape. You’ll want to take notes. 

Before I hand the mic over to myself in the archive episode, I want to mention two things. One, Sound School is a production of PRX and Transom. And two, I recorded my narration in a hotel room closet stuffed full of blankets and pillows. I definitely sound different than I do right now. Ready?  Here’s the archive episode. 

JOHN BURNETT RECENTLY REPORTED A STORY FOR NPR, A STORY WHERE HE COULDN’T RECORD IN THE LOCATION WHERE THE STORY TOOK PLACE. IT WASN’T ALLOWED.

John Burnett – I wish I’d had the freaking audio. 

YEAH, NO DOUBT HE WANTED THE AUDIO BECAUSE THE SOUND COULD TAKE A LISTENER TO THAT PLACE. MAKE THE STORY VIVID IN THE LISTENERS MIND. PAINT PICTURES. 

John – What you do to bring radio alive. 

EXACTLY. BUT HE COULDN’T. 

JOHN HAS WORKED FOR NPR SINCE THE 1980S. HE REPORTS ON THE SOUTHWEST AND SPECIALIZES IN IMMIGRATION. AND THE STORY I’M REFERRING TO WAS ABOUT THREE WOMEN FROM GUATAMALA. THEY’D COME TO THE UNITED STATES ILLEGALLY, CROSSING THE RIO GRANDE INTO TEXAS. THEY EACH BROUGHT A SON WITH THEM – ONE WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD, THE OTHER TWO WERE NINE. 

AS PART OF THE FEDERAL “ZERO TOLERENCE” IMMIGRATION POLICY, THE THREE BOYS WERE TAKEN TO NEW YORK CITY WHILE THE MOTHERS WAITED IN TEXAS TO STAND TRIAL. AND THAT’S WHERE JOHN WANTED TO RECORD. IN THE COURT ROOM. DURING THE TRIAL. 

John – We are the eyes and ears of the public, journalists are. And, not many people go into federal court rooms these days to see what is the cost of the president’s immigration policy and this is exactly what it is. This was watching “zero tolerance” play out. 

IT’S POSSIBLE JOHN WOULD EVENTUALLY GET ACCESS TO A RECORDING OF THE TRIAL PROVIDED BY THE COURT, BUT THAT COULD TAKE A WHILE. SO, JOHN WENT INTO COURT ROOM, A RADIO REPORTER WITHOUT A MICROHPHONE, AND TOOK NOTES. LOTS OF NOTES.  

John – This was all paper and pen. Really careful notes. Put down exactly what was said and try to describe as voluminously as possible just looking around and just soaking it all in. 

FREQUENTLY, A RADIO REPORTER WILL TAKE NOTES ABOUT WHAT THINGS LOOK LIKE AND THEN USE THOSE NOTES IN THEIR NARRATION FOR DESCRIPTION. SOME REPORTERS CALL THEM “COLOR NOTES.” 

IN JOHN’S CASE, HE NOT ONLY HAD TO TAKE COLOR NOTES BUT NOTES ABOUT EVERYTHING IN ORDER TO TELL THE STORY.  

HERE’S A CLIP FROM JOHN’S PIECE. IT STARTS WITH A QUOTE FROM ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS ABOUT THE POLICY OF SEPARATING CHILDREN FROM PARENTS. THAT’S FOLLOWED BY THE MOMENT THE MOTHERS WERE BROUGHT INTO COURT. 

Clip 1 – Sessions followed by…. “The frightened, despondent faces of the three Mayan women indicated they had clearly not gotten the message. They were dressed in tangerine orange jump suits. Shackled at the waist and ankles. So short in stature that when they sat down their rubber jail slippers barely touched the carpeted floor.”

JOHN’S DESCRIPTIONS OF THE WOMEN WERE ALL BASED ON THE NOTES HE TOOK. THE “FRIGHTNED, DESPONDENT FACES…” “TANGERINE JUMP SUITS…” “SHACKLED AT THE WAIST AND ANKLES.” AND THE NOTE THAT REALLY GRABBED MY ATTENTION “SO SHORT IN STATURE THAT WHEN THEY SAT DOWN, THEIR RUBBER JAIL SLIPPERS BARELY TOUCHED THE CARPETED FLOOR.” 

John – It was really quite vivid and I really wanted it to come across. That this is being done in our name. That these immigration policies are being enforced in the name of the American public and this what it looks like. 

Rob – So, it sounds like those descriptions are there not only to paint a picture but, it sounds like you wanted to show how powerless these women are. Was that your intent? 

Well, I wanted to show harmless they were. I’ve lived in Guatamala, as an aside, and I’ve spent a lot of time in the Mayan highlands, and actually plan to be going back in a few days, and I know that these people are, these women grow up at the bottom of the rung of the ladder of society and they’re usually pretty meek and they bring their kids up here and I can’t think of a human being who poses less of a threat to national security…. So, yeah, I wanted all of that to come across. 

Rob -  Can you talk to me a little bit about bias? And I’m not suggesting you’re biased but I’m wondering about color notes leading to bias. Or, creating bias. 

John – I mean I don’t think that’s bias. That’s exactly what it looked like. This is what detention in the US Marshall’s Service looks like. And, I want people to know that. That’s just factual reporting. 

Rob – How do you decide what should be included in the story and what shouldn’t in terms of the descriptions. 

John – That’s really a great question. I have a really wonderful editor who is, you know, everything is shrunk. If you’re not a doing a podcast, the time slots we have at NPR are really compressed these days. Three and a half minutes. Four and a half minutes. And these are dense stories. Immigration is a fact-filled beat and so the luxury of even getting a modifier in there. My editor’s pen, that’s the first thing she goes for. It’s like a wire service editor. And I’ll fight to keep it in there. 

I’m kind of known as a reporter who, I love the medium so much and I love describing things and I really worry that more and more on NPR, reporters are giving us fewer mental pictures of what we’re seeing. We’re so hard news driven these days. Often times, that’s just past over because we’re on deadline trying find out what the latest policy proposal means. So, you really have to really consciously shoe-horn those descriptions in and I think people are always grateful for them. But I do think that this generation of radio reporters, this business of NPR “taking you there” is yesterday’s fish wrap. 

But in this case… the descriptions were central to the story. 
 
HERE’S ANOTHER CLIP. IT’S FAST. JUST A FEW SECONDS. IN THE COURT ROOM ONE OF THE MOTHERS IS TALKING. AGAIN, JOHN CAN’T USE TAPE SO HE HAS TO DESRIBE IT. 

Clip 2 – This is the place where there is no violence, she replied softly in Spanish. 

Rob – Typically, we don’t need to describe how someone talks. Right? In a radio story we get to hear how they talk but you couldn’t record. That must have been part of your note taking. 

John – Yes. Absolutely. It’s a luxury. Those of us who work in radio we spend so much time worrying about getting our microphone in place and making sure everything is working and you’re getting good sound and one of your hands is occupied holding the mic and it’s pretty hard taking notes anyway. So, it was kind of a luxury just to have a slim reporter’s note pad on my lap and I could just right down everything. 

Clip 3 – At the end of the three-hour trial, Magistrate Judge David Fannon was visibly moved by the women’s predicament. 

Rob – So, I think I know what you mean by visibly moved. I get the point. But you don’t really provide a specific description. Like, what if you had? Instead of just describing it sort of generally, what would you say about his eyes or his face? 

John – You know, I’ll take that criticism. And, were I to do it over again, I would have described how he was moved rather than just the general descript. As I recall, he leaned forward. His voice changed from the sort of “high judge” to a more personal tone. And he seemed to be speaking a little more sincerely to them. 

Rob – Right. But the clock is ticking. 

John – Laughs – 

Rob- There’s only so much you can say in the story, right? 

John – Yeah. And my editor is already like “Okay, right. ‘Tangerine.’ Laughs. ‘Rubber slippers.’ ‘The carpet.’ Okay Burnett. I got that.” Laughs. 

OF COURSE, JOHN ISN’T ALWAYS HAMPERED BY RECORDING RESTRICTIONS IN COURT ROOMS. HE’S USUALLY FREE TO RECORD WHERE HE NEEDS TO. SO, HOW DOES HE TAKE NOTES WHEN HE’S ALL GEARED UP? 

John – A lot of times, I will talk them into the mic, Rob. I will say what people are wearing and what the surroundings look like and what my impressions are. How their faces look. It’s certainly very subjective in that respect….

With a mic in my hand, I can either, if I’m sitting, balance a reporter’s pad on the other leg and scribble some descriptions down but it’s just as easy to wait for a pause in the interview. And, I’ve done that. I would say “Please excuse me I want to do some note taking.” 

Rob – Right in front of somebody? 

John – Yup. I’m afraid so. Because I don’t want to forget it!

Rob – Do you have an example? Like what would you be saying? Would you be describing the person who you’re interviewing? Or the surroundings? 

John – Yeah! I do that all the time! … I’ll just describe this immigrant who is in a bus station in McAllen in government issued jeans and a green t-shirt with children climbing all over her eating milk duds and she’s got an electronic ankle monitor bulging from her jeans. She’s got a manila pad that says “I don’t speak Spanish. Please help me find my bus.” So, there’s a lot of rich description to be done particularly on this big important story…

Rob – You would take notes on that description you would record that description, possibly, while she’s sitting there right in front of you?? 

John – Yes. Obviously, I wouldn’t, I don’t know if I would describe her as frightened or fidgety or bored and let her hear that. Subjective descriptions. But, I’ll say “Excuse me while I do some note taking.” Apparently, it’s never bothered anybody. I’ve done it a lot. 

Rob – Hunh. Makes me feel awkward just thinking about describing someone while they’re sitting right in front of me. 

John – Well, the important thing is to get the information down…. Um, I learned a long time ago if you write vividly and descriptively people see what it is that you’re describing and where you are… They make it memorable. They draw a listener in. They humanize a story. They distinguish a story and in radio it might create a driveway moment where they just sit there because you’ve got them. 

Clip 4 – The judge asked the three diminutive women if they had anything to say. They shuffled to a microphone ankle chains clanking with the Marshalls towering over them. Ms. Figeroua wept as she told the judge “thank you for listening. Thank you for your kindness.” Ms. Pasqual-layva said “I apologize for entering your country unlawfully.” Then, Ms Santiago-Sanchez said through tears “When they took away our children, we cried and cried we were so sad.” 
 
John Burnett spoke to me from KUT-FM in Austin Texas back in 2018. After I spoke to him, he earned three national Edward R. Murrow awards for his reporting on immigration. In 2020, John and other reporters at NPR were finalists for a du-Pont Columbia Award for their coverage of the Trump Administration’s “Remain in Mexico” program. 

John retired in 2023 after 36 years at NPR. Though, he still files stories from time to time. I especially liked his tribute to accordion player Flaco Jimenez who died earlier this year. Talk about writing description! 

Clip – Portion of story then music fades down and out. 

Theme music. 

Thinking back, I’ve interviewed a lot of NPR reporters over the years for Sound School. Greg Warner about narrative. Audie Cornish and Alix Spiegel about interviewing. A long time ago I spoke to Nina Totenburg, a legal affairs correspondent who told me she dislikes stand-ups - recording narration on location. 

Nina – I hear these pieces all the time and I think they’re canned and phony sounding. 

Those interviews and a slew of others with NPR staff as well as, of course, dozens and dozens and dozens of interviews with freelancers and podcasters about the backstory to great audio storytelling are all available in the Sound School feed as well as at Transom.org. Have at it. 

From Woods Hole Massachusetts, the radio center of the universe. I’m Rob Rosenthal. Thanks for listening.

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