Pitch Us: Climate Change Stories, Living Planet

Living Planet – a weekly, environmental radio program/podcast from Deutsche Welle (Germany's international broadcaster) – is looking for a climate change story from somewhere in North America to round out a series on the planet's biggest environmental problems.

 

We're looking for a 6-7 minute radio package on a story in your area about climate change that can somehow speak to the global issue of climate change. We pay €265.17 for a 6-minute piece and €50.81 for each additional minute. 

 

Your story should provide some overview of the problem, and look at possible solutions based on a case in your area. Send us your pitch as a freeform paragraph, but be sure to make clear how your story is globally relevant, consider what the main conflict is, define who your prospective interviewees are, and outline which sounds you plan to use to set scenes and tell the story. A few things to make sure you have:

• An environment story – Living Planet is an environment show, so a compelling environmental angle is key for each story.
• A sound-rich story – Use sounds to set scenes and tell the story, playing the “movie in the mind” that good feature radio consists of. Record interesting individual sounds, as well as longish (at least 1 minute) stretch of background sound for each scene.
• High-quality sound – All sound effects and interviews should be free of microphone and handling noises, nor should wind interfere.
• Broadcast-quality interviews – Use windscreens to avoid popping p’s, make sure to set your levels and channels correctly. If you must conduct interviews remotely, use a setup that allows for high-quality sound (e.g. simul-rec, web-based tool such as Zencastr, etc.).
• Good storytelling – A strong protagonist is not always necessary, but does really help draw people in. Keep your story relevant to listeners by drawing on how the topic touches our everyday lives.

 

Email [email protected] with your pitches. Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you!