Ira Glass, host and producer of public
radio’s “This American Life” will speak at Royce
Hall on Friday.
By Michelle Baran
Daily Bruin Contributor
There’s something about the media in the U.S., it seems,
that just thrives on repetition.
Whether it’s political scandal or celebrity gossip,
it’s always the same thing. Ira Glass, host and producer of
public radio’s “This American Life,” however, is
on a mission to do something that people least expect. Glass will
be speaking at Royce Hall on Friday about “more better
radio” and the qualities that set his program apart from
journalism today.
“First of all, the stories in our show have to be
surprising,” Glass said. “The rarest thing when you
watch television or listen to the radio is for something to be
surprising. Second, it has to make some bigger point about
something and a point we haven’t heard before. Third, we feel
like the stories are more powerful if you can relate to the
people.”
Although it may not be the typical formula for headline news,
Glass hopes to use the success of his program to inspire audiences
to embark on their own creative endeavors. What began in Chicago in
1995 as an experiment to emphasize the extraordinary in the
ordinary has grown to reach an estimated audience of over 500,000
people who have access to one of the 300 public radio stations on
which it is aired.
“This American Life” is a medley of monologues,
documentaries and short fiction strung together with clever musical
intervals. The result is a four-act show depicting real-life
stories ranging from horse love affairs to child psychology. The
response varies, but the message is always the same.
“He’s figured out this formula to be able to address
everybody,” said Jennifer Ferro, assistant general manager of
the local public radio station KCRW. “It doesn’t matter
where you live. It doesn’t really matter what age you are.
He’s figured out how to tell a story and how to compel to
stay on and keep listening, because we’re all ultimately
interested in the same thing, which is a way that a story is being
told.”
This patented storytelling provides the framework from which
Glass will open up discussion in seven U.S. cities during the
course of seven days, April 22 to 28, about the potential in radio
programming. Touring across the states, Glass envisions a
particularly productive discourse with the spectators at UCLA.
“In L.A. I think there are more people who are in the
business of making stories, and I think it’s possible to talk
in a more aggressive way about making stories,” Glass
said.
With prospects of a younger audience at Royce Hall, Glass sees
his appearance as an opportunity for students to learn about
entering radio. Although most audience members will probably
already be familiar with “This American Life,” those
who aren’t will be introduced to an entirely different type
of radio show, one which may convince them that radio isn’t
all that bad.
“If they can learn at 20 the trick of telling a story,
whereas it takes most people until they’re 50, it’s to
our benefit that they’re going to tune into “˜This
American Life’ on KCRW, but to their own benefit they can
jump-start their screenwriting career,” Ferro said.
“They can be better novelists, fast. You know, I wish when I
was a student when Ira Glass was around.”
Ferro, who co-produced Ira Glass’ L.A.-based airing of
“This American Life,” said that the experience of
seeing Glass live encourages more people to do radio, which is
precisely what Glass hopes to achieve.
“Most of us, when we’re in school, we don’t
think, “˜Oh, maybe I’ll do radio.’ Who ever heard
of such a thing?” Glass said. “If most people,
especially most people in college, understood what a crazy, great
deal we have, they would want to do it. Nobody is above us, we
choose ourselves anything we want to put on the air, and then
it’s on the air and a million people are
listening.”
RADIO: Ira Glass speaks about “This
American Life” Friday, April 27 at 8 p.m. at Royce Hall. For
information call the Central Ticket Office at (310) 825-2101.