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Q & A With the Judges: Julie Drizin

Submitted by adrianne on June 21, 2007 - 1:54pm. ::

Julie Drizin helped launch Democracy Now! and was a producer for Justice Talking. She has also worked for WETA.

What were you looking for in the Talent Quest entries? What made a semi-finalist, to you?

Julie Drizin: Initially I was just looking for people I'd continue listening to if I happened to stumble upon their voice on the radio. Then I though about the people I'd want to hear more from. I was listening for originality, humanity and simplicity. Could this person make me laugh, think, cry, wonder, imagine, transport me, inform me, inspire me? It's like falling in love.

How do you think the pressures of Talent Quest challenges correspond or fail to correspond with real-life hosthood?

JD: Ha! Real life hosthood requires intense a balance of self-confidence and constant introspection, a bazillion ideas and a willingness to let go of many treasured pre-conceptions, an it's about me and it's about you see-saw. You're in control and deeply vulnerable at the same time. Real hosts know just how much they are loved and hated equally and at all times. So, does that make hosting zen or yin and yang?

What do you want to change about the sound of public radio?

JD: I think it should be bolder and riskier, more provocative and less precious and predictable.

What do you want to change about the audience of public radio?

JD: I would like to see public radio reflecting the real public -- "the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Seriously though, this country will soon have a majority of people of color and public radio needs to attract a more diverse following in order to live up to its name and its mission.

If you were entering the Talent Quest, what would your entry be about?

JD: It would probably be about my kids and the funny, silly, amazing, brilliant, creative, challenging, crazy, annoying things they do. That's pretty much all I have to talk about anyway . . .