Q & A With the Judges: Doug Mitchell

Doug Mitchell founded and directs the Next Generation Radio Project. He's been producing and directing for public radio for twenty years.

What surprised you the most in what you heard?

DM: How so many tried to copy Ira Glass's style. Ira is unique and that's what I like most about him. His show is unique too. It shouldn't be copied.

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

DM: I think the next round will bring more reality into being a program host. The first round had its own challenges and they needed to be different from the reality of being a host. Entrants did a great job under purposely vague criteria. Life can be vague. When that happens, how do you handle it? Our semi-finalists (after some deep debate) I think fit the bill just fine.

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

DM: Let me step back from this question a little. The thing about this Talent Quest process is that it is reasonably wide open and there is an element of risk. Broadly, most people are chosen for jobs through what I'll call "traditional" pipelines. We go to school, we get internships, we get our experience(s), we get our degree(s) and then (hopefully and quickly) we follow long established pathways into jobs. Those who do not land a job in this way are often faulted as "missing something." But, if you really think about it, companies rarely take risks on someone who didn't follow or is perceived to not have followed, the traditional pathways.

I have bookmarked a blog by Tom Peters, author of the book "In Search Of Excellence." There was a post several weeks ago. There was a line that said, " . . . managers can make all the great speeches on the need for innovation, but observably spend most of their time managing compliance." I thought, "exactly." Maybe that's part of the reason there is much discussion about the need to change the sound of public radio.

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

DM: NPR has 50 interns this summer. If you could have been in the room when they individually stood up and introduced themselves. An amazingly diverse group of people. I didn't choose them all. My colleagues did. I felt so proud. My intern has only been in the US for 5 years, as she is from Peru.

These young people are our audience . . . today. Public radio, not just NPR, must find a way to continue to bring in people who are different from one another but yet all want to reach a similar goal. It's not easy and it's fraught with risk.

How has your experience in public radio shaped what you want to hear?

DM: Oh yes! My station (KOSU) trained me, took chances on me and forced me to think seriously about journalism, story-telling and the business of media. I reported, produced, anchored and lead. My old news director was really, really hard to please. We either stepped up or were told to take a hike. I decided to step up. He didn't hand us a script, but made us write it ourselves. It was a great start and I am forever grateful to him and my college years for launching my career.

All these years later, I don't see much of this coming out of public radio. There are very notable exceptions across the system, but they are exceptions, not the rule. Hence, I'm not sure public radio is reaching a wide variety of people. I've tried to change that from where I sit here at NPR. We all have to do our part. This Talent Quest is a great start. To be different you have to hire different.

You can read more about Doug on the Judges page.

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