A Public Radio Pioneer Visits The Linda

ALBANY, NY (02/13/2008)(readMedia)-- On September 20, as a major fundraiser for the station, WAMC will proudly present ”This American Life’s” creator, Ira Glass, for his first appearance at The Linda. During this special presentation, the audience will enjoy a live media experience as Glass lectures, plays audio clips, and answers questions.

Ira Glass started working in public radio in 1978, when he was 19, as an intern at National Public Radio's Washington headquarters. Over the course of the next 17 years, he worked on nearly every NPR news show and did nearly every production job they had: he was a tape-cutter, desk assistant, newscast writer, editor, producer, reporter, and substitute host. He spent a year in a high school for NPR, and a year in an elementary school, filing every week or two for All Things Considered. He has filled in as host of “Talk of the Nation” and “Weekend All Things Considered”. He moved to Chicago in 1989 and was a reporter at NPR’s Chicago Bureau till 1995 until he launched This American Life in November of 1995.

Since its debut, the unique format of “This American Life” has contributed to the overwhelming popularity of the show. It successfully combines a hybrid of journalism, fiction, docu drama and old fashioned storytelling. One of the people who helped shape the program, Paul Tough, says “What This American Life does is apply the tools of journalism to everyday lives, personal lives. Which is true. It's also true that the journalism we do tends to use a lot of the techniques of fiction: scenes and characters and narrative threads.” It’s a documentary show for people who normally hate documentaries; a public radio show for people who don't necessarily care for public radio. Such luminaries as David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell, Russell Banks, Jhumpa Lahiri, Anne Lamott, and Spalding Gray have all participated. Now the show can be heard on more than 500 public radio stations across the country with a weekly audience of about 1.7 million. It's won a lot of awards—the Peabody, the duPont-Columbia, the Murrow, and the Overseas Press Club, to name a few. Ira Glass was named best radio host in the country by Time Magazine. The American Journalism Review declared that the show is at "the vanguard of a journalistic revolution.

In 2007, “This American Life” was turned into a television program that airs on Showtime reaching those who might never have listened to public radio. With inventiveness and boldness Killer Films, the independent film makers who are creating “This American Life”, portray the show in a way that is pleasing to the creators of the radio show; however, translating a radio show into a television show has been a challenge—a challenge that Ira Glass and his staff live for.

Join us on September 20, and experience Ira Glass’ popular show live and have the opportunity to meet him personally! This will be an event that you won’t want to miss. Tickets are $100 each and on sale now. For tickets and further information contact WAMC at www.thelinda.org or 518-465-5233 x4.

For more information on Ira Glass and “This American Life”, visit http://thisamericanlife.com.

“THE LINDA” WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio

339 Central Avenue, Albany, NY 12206

Tickets available online at thelinda.org

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Graeme McKenna, 1-800-323-9262, ext.158, or gmckenna@wamc.org

“THE LINDA” WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio is a multi-purpose facility located at the corner of Central Avenue and Quail Street in Albany, New York. The 210-seat performing arts studio hosts a diverse selection of events including concerts, debates, lectures, films, and other activities, many of which will be broadcast throughout WAMC's seven-state listening area and online at www.wamc.org.

Reporters are invited to attend these concerts as guests of WAMC. Please call Graeme McKenna, at 1-800-323-9262, ext. 158, to tell us you're coming.

To request photographs:

Contact: Graeme McKenna, 1-800-323-9262 ext.158, or gmckenna@wamc.org