NPR Story Critique

Immediately after reading the title of this radio story, which discusses the recent nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I knew that the broadcast aspect would add a much needed dimension of sound to the story.  This type of story is enhanced by actually being able to play the music of the nominees being discussed, and that is something that can't be done in print journalism.  In addition, there is a very conversational tone to the writing in this story, even more so than there would be in a print version of this kind of story.  The broadcaster begins the story by simply stating that the nominees were announced, but then says they will talk about a few of them in a "not so veiled attempt to play some rock on our airwaves." This is a very conversational and fun way to hook listeners in and take advantage of the ability to play music to accompany the story, something that would be otherwise impossible had it been a print news story. Similar to what would be done in a print story, however, the broadcaster begins with the most important information first by saying how many nominees there are and that they were announced "today," which is a word more closely tied to broadcast writing than print. While a print story could have given information on some of the different nominees like was done in this broadcast story, it could not have given the same amount of color to the story that the broadcast quality is able to do. The broadcaster throws in comments on each nominee while playing a bit of their famous songs, and this combination is well suited for a story on music, especially if listeners may not think they are familiar with the band but recognize the music once they hear it. It is different from a print story in this way because the writing seems to be more about shorter, more colorful sentences that feel more like the broadcaster having a personal conversation with the listener. Having this story done on the radio versus print enhances the content of the story and the even more conversational and engaging tone presented by the broadcaster adds to the appeal for listeners. Overall, this was a well done broadcast story and the use of music along with commentary and information provided for a fun and informative listening experience.