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As an audio engineer this was incredibly hard to read. As a dog owner it was also hard to read. Yes yes the bass rolloff switch & having the mic to the side, th

As an audio engineer this was incredibly hard to read. As a dog owner it was also hard to read. Yes yes the bass rolloff switch & having the mic to the side, that could have been 2 bullet points.

grensley 4y ago
The real secret sauce (as it often is) is "how do you get people to follow the standard?" Superglue!
lelandfe 4y ago
Do you often lament that interviews aren't presented as bullet points?
- gonzo41 4y ago
  Yes. This could be a killer youtube short/tiktok etc, or better a NPR short. But without all those words those banner adds would look lonely.
  - autoexec 4y ago
    Anything that someone complains could have been summed up with just two bullet points shouldn't be a youtube or tiktok video. What visual element would have helped here? Do you really need to see the switch? Leave video for things where eyeballs are required. Instructional videos that could have been communicated clearly over text are obnoxious.
    - gonzo41 4y ago
      A tiktok / short would be better, because yes you could show the effect, show the button, and then show the studios. Watch the Insider Business shorts, they are great example for exactly this style of stuff.
  - PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
    Goodness! Another person out there on the wild wild web and not wearing their ublock origin suit. How do you even get through a day? I saw no ads, just continuous interview text with a short RHS sidebar at the top. If your browser/platform won't let you do this, well, you know what to do.
    - gonzo41 4y ago
      I usually don't block adds on my work computer. As I'm not really assaulted by retail adds on the regular work sites.
  - Vrondi 4y ago
    Then just don't read interviews. You know what they are. Avoid them if you hate them.
- steponlego 4y ago
  It didn't need to be an interview at all. It was more of a waste of time. Many people value clear, succinct communication. To this kind of person, a rambling interview which could be encapsulated in one sentence is a waste of time.
  - lelandfe 4y ago
    HN is just plain silly sometimes. > Back when I worked in Detroit, we were an RE20 station. And a lot of on-air talent — and we get a little bit of this here at NPR — likes to sound a little bit more authoritative, and they hit the microphone into the flat position to get that bassy sound. In Detroit, we used epoxy to hold all of the switches into a position so that couldn’t happen again. And, honestly, we do see that occasionally here. We’ll hear something bassy and we’ll run up to the studio and, sure enough, somebody switched it. > Over the past 10 years, you see more computer screens throughout every broadcast plant. And often that microphone is real close to the computer screen: Depending on how close, you can actually hear some of the electronic interference off the computer screen. The computer screen is the big issue. If it is just a little too close to that microphone, your voice is reflecting off of it. These sorts of anecdotes were selected from this engineer's mass of experience because of the natural, free-flowing form of an interview, and the informed interviewer's knowledge of the field. Demanding everything be reduced down to a sentence or two of instruction – much less calling it a waste of time – completely misses the point of this form of communication.
    - dylan604 4y ago
      140chars or i'm out! /s I wonder what having a conversation with people with this "bullet points or nothing" would be like. I'm guessing they aren't very long.
    - mschuster91 4y ago
      > These sorts of anecdotes were selected from this engineer's mass of experience because of the natural, free-flowing form of an interview, and the informed interviewer's knowledge of the field. The saddest thing is, informed interviewers are rare these days :(
- hyperbovine 4y ago
  Only while listening to NPR
annoyingnoob 4y ago
I always find it uncomfortable to read an interview rather than listen to it. You must realize that part of what keeps NPR interesting is the story telling aspect. I don't always appreciate NPR host acting but I can understand why they do it. Story telling is not about bullet points. Glynn Washington usually has something interesting to listen to: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/449018144/snap-judgment https://www.npr.org/podcasts/449018144/snap-judgment
- hackernewds 4y ago
  You can simply make Chrome narrate the whole in article as well. and you get the interview format?
  - jeremyjh 4y ago
    Have you…ever listened to a story? Because that is not remotely the same thing.
    - fsckboy 4y ago
      generally, the whole point of a story is to deliver a narrative in a way you'll accept it, and NPR does that in spades.
jasonwatkinspdx 4y ago
Perhaps consider that you, as a professional, were not in fact the target of this article.
Vrondi 4y ago
Then perhaps reading interviews just isn't for you, and you should avoid doing that, if you don't enjoy a conversational style.

As an audio engineer this was incredibly hard to read. As a dog owner it was also hard to read. Yes yes the bass rolloff switch & having the mic to the side, that could have been 2 bullet points.

grensley 4y ago

The real secret sauce (as it often is) is "how do you get people to follow the standard?" Superglue!

lelandfe 4y ago

Do you often lament that interviews aren't presented as bullet points?

gonzo41 4y ago
Yes. This could be a killer youtube short/tiktok etc, or better a NPR short. But without all those words those banner adds would look lonely.
- autoexec 4y ago
  Anything that someone complains could have been summed up with just two bullet points shouldn't be a youtube or tiktok video. What visual element would have helped here? Do you really need to see the switch? Leave video for things where eyeballs are required. Instructional videos that could have been communicated clearly over text are obnoxious.
  - gonzo41 4y ago
    A tiktok / short would be better, because yes you could show the effect, show the button, and then show the studios. Watch the Insider Business shorts, they are great example for exactly this style of stuff.
- PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
  Goodness! Another person out there on the wild wild web and not wearing their ublock origin suit. How do you even get through a day? I saw no ads, just continuous interview text with a short RHS sidebar at the top. If your browser/platform won't let you do this, well, you know what to do.
  - gonzo41 4y ago
    I usually don't block adds on my work computer. As I'm not really assaulted by retail adds on the regular work sites.
- Vrondi 4y ago
  Then just don't read interviews. You know what they are. Avoid them if you hate them.
steponlego 4y ago
It didn't need to be an interview at all. It was more of a waste of time. Many people value clear, succinct communication. To this kind of person, a rambling interview which could be encapsulated in one sentence is a waste of time.
- lelandfe 4y ago
  HN is just plain silly sometimes. > Back when I worked in Detroit, we were an RE20 station. And a lot of on-air talent — and we get a little bit of this here at NPR — likes to sound a little bit more authoritative, and they hit the microphone into the flat position to get that bassy sound. In Detroit, we used epoxy to hold all of the switches into a position so that couldn’t happen again. And, honestly, we do see that occasionally here. We’ll hear something bassy and we’ll run up to the studio and, sure enough, somebody switched it. > Over the past 10 years, you see more computer screens throughout every broadcast plant. And often that microphone is real close to the computer screen: Depending on how close, you can actually hear some of the electronic interference off the computer screen. The computer screen is the big issue. If it is just a little too close to that microphone, your voice is reflecting off of it. These sorts of anecdotes were selected from this engineer's mass of experience because of the natural, free-flowing form of an interview, and the informed interviewer's knowledge of the field. Demanding everything be reduced down to a sentence or two of instruction – much less calling it a waste of time – completely misses the point of this form of communication.
  - dylan604 4y ago
    140chars or i'm out! /s I wonder what having a conversation with people with this "bullet points or nothing" would be like. I'm guessing they aren't very long.
  - mschuster91 4y ago
    > These sorts of anecdotes were selected from this engineer's mass of experience because of the natural, free-flowing form of an interview, and the informed interviewer's knowledge of the field. The saddest thing is, informed interviewers are rare these days :(
hyperbovine 4y ago
Only while listening to NPR

annoyingnoob 4y ago

I always find it uncomfortable to read an interview rather than listen to it. You must realize that part of what keeps NPR interesting is the story telling aspect. I don't always appreciate NPR host acting but I can understand why they do it. Story telling is not about bullet points. Glynn Washington usually has something interesting to listen to: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/449018144/snap-judgment https://www.npr.org/podcasts/449018144/snap-judgment

hackernewds 4y ago
You can simply make Chrome narrate the whole in article as well. and you get the interview format?
- jeremyjh 4y ago
  Have you…ever listened to a story? Because that is not remotely the same thing.
  - fsckboy 4y ago
    generally, the whole point of a story is to deliver a narrative in a way you'll accept it, and NPR does that in spades.

jasonwatkinspdx 4y ago

Perhaps consider that you, as a professional, were not in fact the target of this article.

Vrondi 4y ago

Then perhaps reading interviews just isn't for you, and you should avoid doing that, if you don't enjoy a conversational style.