Q & A With the Judges: John Barth

John Barth is the Managing Director for The Public Radio Exchange. He was the founding producer of Marketplace, ran AOL's news operations and business, and has also worked with the premier spoken-word site, Audible.com.

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

JB: Better, more natural writing and story telling. More diverse voices and experiences. I'd like to hear more of the chaos of the sound of the day. Time is linear but life is not, and we don't hear enough of the randomness. Narrative structures impose an order that doesn't match with real life.

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

JB: Hosty confidence, clever writing, a story to tell, originality (we're not looking for the next Ira . . . we're looking for YOU), the ability to deftly tell a tale in 2 minutes on the nose and . . . clean teeth.

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

JB: Well clean teeth is a must. ;-) Confronting what to say in an engaging way, filling two minutes perfectly and facing a lot of technical challenges -- that's a day in the life of a host. Oh, and being critiqued by listeners. That takes iron shorts. Grace under pressure.

What made you want to be a Talent Quest judge?

John Barth: The thrill of finding people who might be better on the air than, yes, even Carl Kassell.

What surprised you the most in what you heard?

JB: The range of creative approaches and that musical ode to the 'late' Garrison Keillor.

What was the most difficult thing about judging the entries and choosing your final recommendations?

JB: Saying 'no' to a lot of promising people. We were inundated with creativity, wit, and impressive on air ability. These were very very hard choices. The competition was truly beyond my expectations.

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

JB: Well I made enough BAD public radio (that I regret) that I know many more talented people can do much better. And they deserve a shot.

Read more about John on the Judges page.

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