Transcript: Season 3, Episode 2
Brent Baughman
Terri Trespicio:
What does it mean to make it big? Well, it depends on who you ask and we did. Welcome to making it big in 30s, a podcast for by and about the Emerson community. You're about to meet an Emersonian, who's making it, making a living, making a difference and sometimes making it up as they go. I'm your host and alumni, Terri Trespicio. And if you like what you hear, subscribe and share with your friends and meet me and other Emersonian over on emerge, the only digital platform exclusive to the Emerson community, just go to emerge.emerson.edu for more. All right. Let's get started. Brent Baughman graduated Emerson in 2010 with a degree in broadcast journalism and creative writing, and has spent the past 12 years as a senior producer in the programming division at NPR, he's worked on new and existing podcasts, shows you've probably heard or heard of including the Ted Radio Hour, The NPR Politics Podcast. It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders, Short Wave and Consider This.
Terri Trespicio:
Before that, he worked in NPRs news division as a weekend producer for NPRs All Things Considered. Brent originally didn't want to go near radio because his dad was in radio. So, he thought he would just do something else like write. And to be clear writing story, all of it is central to Brent's work, but it didn't take him long try freshman year to find himself at WERS learning the craft of radio and loving it. Brent has been at NPR for over a decade. And even he can't believe that what you're about to hear is what it actually means to create radio, if we're even going to call it that anymore. But also why loving an industry doesn't mean you have to stay put, and how Brent stays curious about what's next, plus the advice he gives anyone who wants to get into podcast production. I give you Brent Baughman on making it as a radio and podcast producer. So, where to get the producer, in front of the mic, guy behind the radio, guy behind the story.
Brent Baughman:
Well, there's reason that we like it better there, but...
Terri Trespicio:
Well I was going to say, how do you like that Brent? How do you feel about being interviewed when you're the one who's usually flipping the switches? Like don't pay no attention to that man behind the curtain situation.
Brent Baughman:
Well I mean, you wind up on the other side of the glass because you're more interested in other people. So, it's a little weird to be answering the questions, but I'm happy to talk to you.
Terri Trespicio:
Well, one of the reasons we launched this particular podcast is because look, Emerson has some really famous alumni, but there's also thousands of people who have really great, interesting, cool jobs. And we don't get to hear about them. And really, except for the one person who wins an Oscar, like what about everyone else? What are they doing? And so, we're one, of course, particularly because you just have those kinds of jobs. People are like, "That's such a cool job." But it's also something you've worked incredibly hard at, that we don't know what it looks like, we all think we know, "Oh, he's a producer, a podcast bruiser. He works as a producer for NPR." But for most people they don't know what that really means. So, how do you describe it to people?
Brent Baughman:
I think my parents didn't know what it meant until a few years ago.
Terri Trespicio:
How do you explain it to your parents?
Brent Baughman:
I sit in a room and move things around on the screen until they sound good. Everything people hear in podcasts and on radio. So much of it is written and prerecorded. And a lot of people don't understand that about public radio is that a lot of times you hear someone say, "Joining us now." Even when they say that they're hearing a prerecorded interview, it's also the reason that a lot of people are nervous to come on NPR, especially because they feel like everyone at NPR is so well-spoken and their points are so succinct. They never say um or you know, and it's because there are a lot of people behind the scenes editing out their pauses, making sure their argument is the best version of itself. And then of course cutting it for time as well. So it's that kind of thing.
Terri Trespicio:
So, they're the Marble, you're the Michelangelo?
Brent Baughman:
Mm.
Terri Trespicio:
That's a dangerous, but the fact that people don't talk perfect. Look at how I'm talking right now. I mean, I think it's important to recognize when people talk in life, let alone on a podcast, on radio, on NPR. They're not automatically smarter and more succinct. If anything, we all fail a little, we all say more than we need to. So, you were saying that your job is mainly to highlight the best parts of what someone's saying and compress it?
Brent Baughman:
Except, and here's what's key about what you just said is that when people talk naturally, it's a natural conversation has rhythm to it, it's musical. When you start out as a young producer, it's very easy to over cut stuff and make it sound edited and make it sound less human. So, one of the marks of a really strong, experienced producer is to do everything I just described where you make something really succinct and make it make sense and make it sound really smart, but still make it sound human and not edit out the natural give and take of a conversation that's really hard to do. And it's almost harder to do when you're doing something longer, like what we're doing, let alone to make a conversation that lasts 15 minutes of really good type four minutes. So, that's part of it as well.
Terri Trespicio:
And so, I imagine that interestingly, what inspires someone or make someone think they would like this work? And I can only imagine that someone who chooses this line of work not only is a good listener, but likes being a good listener. And I make that distinction because we're in a world where a lot of people don't listen, they like to talk.
Brent Baughman:
Yeah.
Terri Trespicio:
Do you call yourself that?
Brent Baughman:
Yeah, for sure. For sure. I mean, I was a listener podcasts and public radio before I ever wanted to work in it. In fact, I went into Emerson as a writing major because my dad is in radio. So, I was absolutely never going to work into a radio station.
Terri Trespicio:
Oh really?
Brent Baughman:
Oh yeah.
Terri Trespicio:
There's a reason not to do it.
Brent Baughman:
No, not going to do it. But then of course it Emerson you have the ability, even if it's not in your academic major to go to the radio station and experiment with stuff. And I did that. I think the spring of my freshman year, and-
Terri Trespicio:
You were drawn in by the sirens off, you couldn't resist it.
Brent Baughman:
What it was is that when I came to Emerson in 2006, there were the podcast landscape was not what it is now at all. And there were only a handful of popular shows and one of them was this American life.
Terri Trespicio:
Oh, yes of course.
Brent Baughman:
And I remember the tour guide on my tour at Emerson told me that at the radio station, they had a show called This Emerson Life. I thought that was so clever and so smart. That must be so cool to do a little college version of the show. So that's what drew me in, initially. I actually didn't work on, by the time I got there, I felt like there wasn't This Emerson Life anymore. I don't know I had come and gone, but there was a lot of other stuff to do. And I realized sitting in the basement at WERS that editing tape was something I could do without looking at the clock.
Terri Trespicio:
That's really key. You went into the zone a little bit.
Brent Baughman:
Yeah (affirmative). And when you find that thing, and I'm sure you've talked to a lot of different people in a lot of different fields for the show. And I would bet a lot of them say that same thing is that when you find that thing where you are not watching the clock that's something to stick with.
Terri Trespicio:
But you went in as a writing major, you're like, "I'm going to be a writer." And the fact is we all know content informs all of these things, but did you have a thought in your mind of half the time people would go into writing. They don't know what they'll be running with. That means what did you think you might have been interested in before you started doing more radio stuff?
Brent Baughman:
No, I really specifically, I wanted to write magazine, long form stuff, nonfiction, that kind of new journalism thing. And also at the time, 05 06 was when David Sedaris had just blown up. Every one of my writing workshops, like dad's really wanted to be the next David Sedaris. So, essays and that kind of thing. That was really what I wanted to do, but I didn't. I never left writing completely, in fact, I did a thing that I don't know if they still let you do this at Emerson, but you could kind of self design a major. And so, I did that and combined a lot of writing courses, creative writing with a lot of broadcast journalism courses, which was one of being so key, public radio is so essentially, creative writing and a lot of technical journalism. And so, I was really lucky to have access to long-form magazine writers and like radio producers in different classes at different times. So, I still obviously use a lot of that writing stuff today.
Terri Trespicio:
So, you're really... What you just said. No one's ever said it to me quite that way. That really what radio is and the kind of radio and stories about news as I've heard you say before, that it is all content. I mean, you were a lover of writing and content, which means you're going to be a lover. You're a lover of story. And then it combines the technical part of also not just writing it down on a page and sending it to someone, but actually orchestrating and executing a story to come to life. So, it seems like you're true to your roots as a creative writer. I imagine that there are a lot of people who come into radio production who are not writers and they might be good at what they do, but they might not have in some ways the soul of the story. Do you find that to be true or might be the part of judgment? Or...
Brent Baughman:
No. No. That's a good insight. A lot of younger producers, there's something I find myself saying to younger producers too. It's like when they ask about what they should work on or how to get to where they want to be, I tell them to write or to make sure you read a lot, make sure you read fiction, make sure you read novels, because you can teach someone how to use pro tools.
Terri Trespicio:
This is not a tools job. Anyone could learn a tool.
Brent Baughman:
Right. Right.
Terri Trespicio:
But we're talking about is what makes stories. I mean, you've been part of all of these shows that people know. They're all centered around story. No one goes, "I love that show, great editing." No one's thinking about how things, the music, it's the experience of it. We love This American Life because of the experience of listening to it, to the Ted Radio Hour because of what it feels like to be inside of it. And to me, the feeling of that is not different than when you're inside of a novel, it's silent, but you're providing that as the reader and putting that in there. And so, I just love that you say that because what I want to make sure is that people listening are realizing all the different applications that their Emerson education and their interests apply. It's not like, "Well, I'm not a radio person." Well, what's a radio person? Someone who loves story, who is open to learning this particular format for that. I just love hearing you say that. Yes, reading fiction. I say watch all the great TV shows too. Do you like to watch TV?
Brent Baughman:
Oh, yes. Oh my gosh, yes.
Terri Trespicio:
I mean, there was kind of fell out of favor though. Radio people were like "Purr. I don't do TV and stuff." But it's like TV is-
Brent Baughman:
Prestige TV changed a lot of that. The Soprano, Mad Men era, Prestige TV, oh. Public radio people are deeply into good television now. We were watching the White Lotus last night. Oh my God.
Terri Trespicio:
Oh my God. I know. Everyone is talking about this show.
Brent Baughman:
Talk about a show with great writing. And...
Terri Trespicio:
The idea is, what you're telling people is if they want to be involved, people say, "I want to use my creative skills. I want to use my writing." But they don't realize that there's a discipline and the work of what you do. And then there's the heart of what you do. A lot of... Tell me if I'm wrong, was a lot of people graduating. Like, "I just want to do this creative fun part." And they don't realize that the only way to make that happen is to be able to build it. Did you think I want to work in this industry? Now I know I want to apply it in this particular medium. Or did you just loved the work? As you said, time disappeared or was it like, "Oh, that was cool, but I just want to do these kinds of stories, if I do them in print or TV or whatever." Was it one of the other, what led the choice to go in the direction you have?
Brent Baughman:
Probably the medium, Honestly. because-
Terri Trespicio:
The medium did lead for you?
Brent Baughman:
Yeah (affirmative), it did because I just, we were talking about loving listening I just really did. And until I could get into the radio station experiment, I didn't realize that I would be so drawn to the other side of things to making what people listened to. So, that was a driver for me, but you're so right, that there's so many ways to fill up your toolbox when we were talking about writing. One of the things that I did four years at Emerson that was like still to this day is so valuable to me is that I was a tour guide in the admission department.
Terri Trespicio:
Really?
Brent Baughman:
Yeah (affirmative). My whole four years there.
Terri Trespicio:
So, how did that inform your sort of-
Brent Baughman:
Well, it's just, it's about, it's about talking to people you've never met before. People who come in with often a very nervous energy or people who... They have different levels of enthusiasm and it's exactly what you do. It's exactly what you do when you call someone for an interview. And as a journalist, you want them to open up, you want them to feel safe, you need to communicate well with them. You need to be honest with them. You need to lay out expectations and also keep things moving. Now we're getting to the radio side of things, it was like such a valuable part of my time there. And I, like, I must have been an NPR six months or something and I hung up the phone calling someone and I was like, "Wow, this is what I did for four years."
Terri Trespicio:
But does everyone who leads tours around a school think the way you just did? You said you have to create trust and communicate with them. A lot of people who lead tours go, "I memorize the script. I know the site. And I point them out." That's not how all tour guides lead.
Brent Baughman:
No, but I have a feeling at Emerson, more of them see it as a... I mean, I'm sure a lot of the performing arts majors. In fact, I know a lot of the performing arts majors that [crosstalk 00:14:57].
Terri Trespicio:
It's just a live audience.
Brent Baughman:
That is an opportunity to work on that side of things.
Terri Trespicio:
Winner, why did you choose to do tour? There's a reason someone goes, "I'm going to go do that." You weren't thinking this is great training as a journalist.
Brent Baughman:
Oh no. That's right. No, they seem like cool kids, because I just told you about my tour and what the tour guide said about This Emerson Life and stuff. They just seem like cool people. And so, I just wanted to hang out with them.
Terri Trespicio:
Did you see yourself in some way as a bridge, you loved your experience there and these are kids who were considering going there. Was it kind of, you were... Did you feel in some way, you're a little bit of part of the sales arm? Isn't touring part of the sales arm?
Brent Baughman:
Definitely. It was kind of marketing the school, which is another skill, representing the best version of an organization with a real reputation. And that was another part of it, but it was a really valuable time of mine.
Terri Trespicio:
I love that you did that. And I loved that, I just learned it because that I imagine is as good a training for producing radio as anything for the reasons you said. And it just makes me realize how many things that we do that we were drawn to doing, that we don't realize will serve us later, because in every show you're a tour guide, "Hey, we're going to talk about this." This is what I mean, everything that you're doing is creating an environment where someone wants to come check it out and maybe stay. Isn't that the point of it really? I just love that. I love it. And I wouldn't have pinned you as the person who wanted to go out and be a tour guide because we think of that in a different way.
Brent Baughman:
Most people who know me today would probably not either.
Terri Trespicio:
I was going to say that is not how I would have thought. Why this? Since there's so many elements of, like you said, you very humbly said, "Oh, it's moving things around and make sure they sound good." But the fact is there's so many cycles of the work that a producer does, a producer on radio, a producer on podcasts, whatever audio, where there's the coming up with the idea, unless you're assigned to it. There's the picking of the talent or the guests. And then there's the planning. And then there's the happening of it. Then the post. There's so many parts of your work. What part of that do you love the most? Is it the beginning part coming up or is it sounds that-
Brent Baughman:
It's definitely the sitting in the room and moving things around on the screen and [crosstalk 00:17:23]
Terri Trespicio:
That is your favorite part?
Brent Baughman:
Yeah (affirmative). The other stuff you're talk. I mean, you're talking about skills that are really important and that it... When you find a really good Booker or you find someone who's just amazing at research, those are parts of production too. And they are not my favorite parts. My favorite part is really just like, when you wake up in the morning and the first thing you think about is like, "What if I move that music two seconds over?"
Terri Trespicio:
No way zoomed in.
Brent Baughman:
Totally. And people don't realize how much micro editing can go into something, but that's my favorite part of it. It honestly is. That's the part where I don't look up to the clock. The other stuff, it is really important booking and idea generation and all the technical stuff that goes into how we record interviews with musicians and politicians and out in the field. A lot of people really love field production, that's something that NPR has been great out for a long, long time, but it's not my favorite part of it. My favorite part is just sitting in the room.
Terri Trespicio:
But you get to do that a lot of the time?
Brent Baughman:
Sure, sure.
Terri Trespicio:
Or you have to do all the other stuff? There are so many, especially you're at NPR. There's lots of people who specialize in those things. You don't have to do everything. I assume.
Brent Baughman:
I have to do a lot of that, all that stuff. And when I say it's not my favorite, it doesn't mean that it's not rewarding part of the job, but I'm lucky enough to now after 12 years there, if I woke up tomorrow and I went to my bosses NPR and said, "I really want to get out in the field more. Pandemic not withstanding." I could probably go do some of that. So I'm really happy that...
Terri Trespicio:
Is there anything, when you started out, when you were like, "I know I'm good at these things, I've had practice doing these things, but I'm worried about this one area." And where you write to worry or was it like, so not a big deal.
Brent Baughman:
I don't know. I guess, I felt a little sure on the gum shoe journalism parts of being publicly. The journalism courses that I took at Emerson were literally, it was like a print reporter from the globe. Those were the courses I felt a little out of my depth with, so when it got to NPR, it was a little nerve wracking to do what we were just kind of talking about, like cold call, some city hall in Montana about the flooding in that part of the state or something that sort of journalism, car, just phone calls, notepad journalism. I was a little out of my depth when I started, but you get thrown in.
Terri Trespicio:
Yeah. You could learn, you had to do it.
Brent Baughman:
Yeah.
Terri Trespicio:
And did you feel that you got better at it or you found ways to not have to do that part?
Brent Baughman:
Both.
Terri Trespicio:
Both. Well, that's right.
Brent Baughman:
I got better at it, but I also got better on understanding my limitations and what I was more interested in and in practice, what that meant for me was that my first few years at NPR, I worked in news division, on the weekend version of All Things Considered, which is one of NPRs tent pole radio shows.
Terri Trespicio:
Of course, yes.
Brent Baughman:
And I moved from the news division in 2012 to the programming division, which is a weirdly named division of NPR. But programming basically means all of NPRs non-news content. Wait, wait, don't tell me car talk when it existed, the Ted Radio Hour, which we created in the program and division, then when I moved to it and it was more moving things around until they sound good and less pen and pad journalism. Now what I'm doing now is actually, I'm sort of ballooned into the news division.
Brent Baughman:
Now working on a podcast called Consider This, which is like All Things Considered afternoon podcast offering. And it really is news heavy. And I find myself really enjoying that. And I've been lucky enough to work on a lot of different things. News, non news, over my 12 years at NPR.
Terri Trespicio:
Do you like that?
Brent Baughman:
I mean, I've had to pick one, I would probably not pick the new stuff, but honestly, it's just so nice to have the flexibility to feel like you're ready for a change and be able to go back and forth.
Terri Trespicio:
So, you have a kind of unique situation there. You've been at an NPR then for 12 years. You said.
Brent Baughman:
Yeah (affirmative), I started as an intern there in 2009, which.
Terri Trespicio:I mean how come?
Brent Baughman:
I know, I told you before we started that I was listening to one of your old episodes with the artists from Pittsburgh. And you were talking to her about how many different shops she's had.
Terri Trespicio:
So many.
Brent Baughman:
And I was like, "This is the opposite of my story because I'm so lucky and this so rarely happens to people. Right out of college, they get a job and they keep it and they could keep it. People can work at NPR for 30, 40 years.
Terri Trespicio:
Their life was there.
Brent Baughman:
And it's a remarkable place for many reasons. And that's one of them, but I interned there the summer before I graduated. And then I went back there the summer after, and I was 22.
Terri Trespicio:
That is crazy.
Brent Baughman:
And I'm almost 34. And I've been there 12, 13 years.
Terri Trespicio:
I mean, it's rare. It's just rare. But also you have the flexibility in the room there to grow. Like you said, if you were like, oh you put in your time and say, "I really want to do more of this." It sounds like you can just do whatever the heck you want, but you have ways of moving around. And that's unique to NPR probably in any other major thing. But can you talk to this idea of that moving of... Because we're talking about careers and how they arc and bend over time. And a lot of people won't do it within the same company for someone who is so dedicated to radio. Yes. But also to story, and about changing the way people listen to news and talk about news. How do you know when it's time for you to change something up or do you just wait and someone taps and goes, "Brent sit in this chair now."
Brent Baughman:
I don't know. I don't know about you. I mean, I've been interested in your experience with this, but for me, I feel like every two years, 18 months, I feel kind of like okay...
Terri Trespicio:
Every two years or 18 months, go around that thing, you're like, "All right, now it's time for something new."
Brent Baughman:
Yeah (affirmative).
Terri Trespicio:
And you've been able to do that. I mean, you don't strike me with a grinder. You're just going to just do this one thing forever and not think about it.
Brent Baughman:
I've been so lucky to be at NPR. My time in NPR has perfectly coincided with this podcasting thing.
Terri Trespicio:
I know so many new things.
Brent Baughman:
Like I said earlier in 2006, there were...
Terri Trespicio:
There were three podcasts.
Brent Baughman:
There were three podcasts and NPRs portfolio has grown so dramatically over the 12 years that I've been there. That's part, I mean, a lot of it is hard work, but I've also just been so lucky to be there at that time. So, coinciding with that growth of podcasting has been my ability to be lucky enough, to go and work on a show the Ted Radio Hour. And then from that show, The NPR Politics Podcast, which I helped start, which just a straight kind of chat show. That's still heavily edited.
Brent Baughman:
I worked with an amazing team at NPR on our science desk to doing a daily podcast called Short Wave. And that taught me so much working with that team. Science journalism is such a specific thing. And especially being with that team this past year, given everything I learned so much from them. So, I think what you were getting at is the hopping around these different projects. For me, it's been a real opportunity to learn new things from each new team of people that I work with. The Washington desk too, and the Politics podcast and the Ted Radio Hour helped me so much with writing, Shortwave the science podcast helped me so much with nuance and science journalism, and...
Terri Trespicio:
You've had a real tour. You've had a real tour.
Brent Baughman:
I've had a real tour.
Terri Trespicio:
You've had real second education.
Brent Baughman:
To pick a theme there. Yes. And if you're a little bit interested in everything, being able to work at a place like NPR, where you can sort of work with all these divisions and many people at NPR do this. They produce for All Things Considered. And then they go report for the education desk or a lot of people can do that at NPR and-
Terri Trespicio:
But you could do it anywhere. I mean, this is the thing, if you weren't at NPR and you were working for some other podcasts or you might've jumped around to different companies every two years. You're in a unique place in that sense. But what I like, what I'm hearing is number one, it pushes against this idea that you're supposed to be like, "I'm a science journalist. I'm this, I'm this." You aren't defined. You specifically are not defined by any one show. They all add to your portfolio of shows you've worked on. You're not just a news or not news or entertainment.
Terri Trespicio:
And there's such pressure on people slash alumni to students, anyone to pick this thing that they're going to do. And I have always pushed against that. And I said, "That's crazy. How the hell are you supposed to know what you're going to want to do and be interested in? Until you do it. When you leave college, you don't know anything yet." But you're showing that, Hey, and you said it. And I specifically asked because I want people to know that if every two years you're itching to learn something new, do something new, number one, other opportunities in place where you work, wherever you work to bend and flow, not go, "Oh, no, I'm rudderless. I'm going to change my thing." Well, you wouldn't be the same person if you hadn't been exposed to those different topics and different people.
Brent Baughman:
Yeah (affirmative). And don't get me wrong. If I had not landed at NPR at a time of this kind of growth, I very well could have felt that itch after two years and gone and done something else.
Terri Trespicio:
You might've. It's interesting though, that you're working at NPR during a time of explosion of podcasts where there's upwards of 2 million podcasts out there or whatever. And it makes the thing... It's kind of everyone coming up with podcasts and just throwing them against the world to see, because there's almost no commitment. It's like "We did a season and it's done." It sounds like there's new ones kind of popping up over there. Is it sort of this, how is it changing the way NPR sees radio, all these, maybe it's not different. I don't know how NPR thinks about shows, but you could do a show and it goes away. But it just seems so unhooked from schedule that it seems like it's freer to come up with ideas. Is that true?
Brent Baughman:
Yes and no. I mean, how it's changing NPRs approach to radio. I mean, in profound ways, I would have to check on this after we hang up. But I think in the next couple of years, our revenue from podcasts is poised to overtake our revenue from radio.
Terri Trespicio:
Okay. So, it is not just a lab for new ideas [crosstalk 00:29:11]
Brent Baughman:
Oh no, no, no.
Terri Trespicio:
It's actually leading in profit.
Brent Baughman:
It's that huge. And if you had told someone at NPR 10 years ago, that was going to happen, that would have been hilarious.
Terri Trespicio:
But I don't even know if I understand why.
Brent Baughman:
Because there's so much money in it. The growth is so profound.
Terri Trespicio:
Because people are wanting to sponsor it. Because it's not like, "Oh, NPR just suddenly has endless budget for stuff." That's not possible.
Brent Baughman:
No, no. That's right. That's right. It's the funding. The funding is-
Terri Trespicio:
And is it because of that on-demand thing, like if only have from this time to this time to do shows you only have this many shows, but if it's podcasts it's sort of, you have kind of endless growth for ideas, anyone who wants to sponsor anything, is there just more [crosstalk 00:29:53].
Brent Baughman:
I mean, there are audience realities? The podcast audience, the NPR reaches weekly is 10 to 15 million people give or take. So, that pie, obviously everyone are working to grow that pie. But within that pie there... That's what our funding can support right now. And you were asking about seasonal shows. A lot of when a NPR has tried to do in the last couple of years is invest in daily habit strategies, daily shows that come up every day where people can really build a relationship with them. Seasonal shows can be very successful, but they're difficult. And when they go away and come back, that's an audience challenge. And they also they take a lot more time, they're very expensive. A lot of seasonal shows are seasonal because of deeply reported long form stuff.
Terri Trespicio:
That's expensive.
Brent Baughman:
That is like really hard work. And it's really hard to find people who can do it well. And right now there's never been more places for people to go produce [crosstalk 00:31:07], audio stuff. So, there are all these challenges and dynamics right now.
Terri Trespicio:
But weekly is not even enough, a weekly update, weekly feels like a year now [crosstalk 00:31:17] you're saying, keep it stuff. It's all daily. And the cheapest stuff is not cheapest, but the least expensive is going to sell you something that doesn't require as much reporting, but give something the listener can touch every day. That's what you're saying is that there's a move for that kind of daily.
Brent Baughman:
Yeah (affirmative), and what NPR is trying to do now is to marry those things to give people deeply nuanced reporting on a daily basis. And that's what outfits like the daily are doing so well too, And what we're trying to do with that first, which is our morning podcast, and then Consider This, the one I was talking about earlier is the afternoon one. We're really trying to give people real reporting every day. And to do it as we're talking about, briefly in 10 or 15 minutes, here's what you need to know to start your day, or here's-
Terri Trespicio:
We want, while we're brushing our teeth, please just tell me what's going on. I cannot consume all of this written stuff, I cannot. And are those ideas all being generated by producers like you in-house or are people coming from the outside and pitching stuff?
Brent Baughman:
A lot of them are in house, but NPR also has a process of external pitches and stuff comes from external sources too. And there's a lot of collaboration with different other public radio productions. And NPRs still distributes a lot of public radio content that we don't produce ourselves, Fresh air is an example of that, Fresh air Terry Gross is produced in Philadelphia by WHYY, the member station but NPR distributes it.
Terri Trespicio:
The queen is. The queen of interviews.
Brent Baughman:
That's part of the portfolio too, for sure.
Terri Trespicio:
Is there something you haven't tried yet in your career, either topic wise or things you're looking to do that you're looking at, maybe you'll be growing into and the next thing, in your next iteration or phase?
Brent Baughman:
We were talking about field work and how it's not my favorite thing, but it's an appealing challenge to me. And it's something that I would love to be better at. The thing people always want to ask producers is, do you ever want to be on the other side of the glass and host something or report something? And a lot of producers do you want to do that eventually, but not me. I'm really happy.
Terri Trespicio:
You wanted to sit there and rearrange the pieces and make sure they sound good. And if you're busy being a host and shining those host skills, you don't get to do the thing that you like to do. It's fully matter of [crosstalk 00:33:58]
Brent Baughman:
The rare few of them do. And that's an amazing collection of skills when you can get a person who can be on the mic, but also cut the tape when they're done. And I don't know, maybe someday I could do that, but I'm just really happy doing what I'm doing now.
Terri Trespicio:
Wait is there anything you're writing right now since you are creative writer [crosstalk 00:34:22] or even a novel shoved away somewhere that you're working at?
Brent Baughman:
God no. Definitely.
Terri Trespicio:
No, no mysteries?
Brent Baughman:
Are you kidding? I'm off for two weeks and I'm just excited to read a novel, which I haven't... We talked about reading, but the news has been so... For years now, the news cycles have been so insane that the thing that I haven't done enough of it's reading. And so, I bought this detective novel.
Terri Trespicio:
And that's what you're going to do.
Brent Baughman:
Yeah (affirmative).
Terri Trespicio:
I love it. And lastly, I ask everybody this, what does it mean for you to make it and how will you know when you get there?
Brent Baughman:
Well, I guess, I would go back to that idea of the clock and I'm watching the clock and being able to support yourself with a job where you're not watching the clock.
Terri Trespicio:
Well, I think you've made it congratulations. You made it early on.
Brent Baughman:
Thanks.
Terri Trespicio:
Well, it's such a pleasure talking to you, Brent.
Brent Baughman:
You too.
Terri Trespicio:
I appreciate it. Making it big in 30 minutes as sponsored by the Emerson college office of alumni engagement and supported by the alumni board of directors, stay in touch with the Emerson community by joining us over at emerge, a digital platform where Emersonian go to connect, just go to emerge.emerson.edu for more.