Molly Marcello

     Back From Beyond is a rescue podcast. But it's more than that. It's an educational series trying to decrease death and injury in the backcountry. To do this, we tell real rescue stories from the perspective of both subjects and first responders. 

     I am an end-to-end producer on this project, from concept to reporting, editing to distribution. I collaborated with several organizations to make this podcast happen, including Grand County Search and Rescue, KZMU Moab Community Radio, Grand County Active Transportation and Trails, and the Moab Office of Tourism. 

     Sounds of / Sonidos de Green River asks: what does home sound like? Smell like? Taste like? This audio collage blends field sounds and local interviews for rural placemaking, aimed at showcasing the diverse textures of a small Utah town.  

     I made this in collaboration with Green River-based arts nonprofit Epicenter and local high school journalism students. As part of this project, I taught student workshops on best practices in recording and editing, which they then used in their own interviews. 

   Welcome to Moab is an award-winning documentary on the early pandemic housing-crisis-turned-worker-shortage in a popular tourism town. This special zeroes in on local restaurants, arguably the most public-facing businesses in the service industry. We hear from restaurant employees across different types of eateries talk about their experience working in the longest and most harrowing of seasons. 

     I made this as News & Public Affairs director of KZMU Moab Community Radio. It won first place in our division for longform documentary at the Public Media Journalists Association. 

     Lift Up: LGBTQ+ Visibility is an award-winning mini-series of non-narrated audio portraits created in the wake of, and to supplement local news coverage of, a double homicide of a queer couple in rural Utah. Amidst a flurry of reporting steeped in tragedy, violence, homophobia, and trauma, KZMU responded to the need to widen the lens on the queer experience in this rural community. That's what made this series different from other media coverage - statewide and national - of the event. 

     I was the managing editor on Seasons 1 and 2 of this project, collaborating with and mentoring some amazing local audio producers. Season 1 of Lift Up won a Regional Edward R. Murrow award for 'Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.'