One element of The Wall Street Journal that hasn't changed since the purchase by News Corp. is the oddball front page story, a-hed as it is known. Today's is near and dear to my heart as it is about audio drama.
Barry Newman looks at how technology has led to a resurgence in groups and individuals writing and producing audio drama and how they are evading traditional media to reach their audiences. Using podcasts to get their information out is a way around gatekeepers quoted in the story, such as this skeptical producer at NPR.
A few of radio drama's old hands still fight for outlets. Yuri Rasovsky still produces his "Hollywood Theater of the Ear"for satellite radio. L.A. Theatre Works, a not-for-profit outfit, records classic stage plays with sound effects and distributes them to public radio. But its head, Susan Loewenberg, won't touch plays written for radio. "The best time to listen to radio drama is 1937," she says.
Because it is mandatory for an article that mentions dramatic radio, it is complete with a performance photo of Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater.
This article is another great piece on how technology enables variety in our economy and the culture it produces. It also highlights several people, most of whom I know at least in passing, who have found a way to do something they love as a result.
While not traditional, it is a great business story.
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