StoryCorps – Client Spotlight March 2010

StoryCorps - Client Spotlight March 2010 - ATC Blog

THEY LET YOU OUT?
THE LIVES OF TRANSCRIPTION NERDS…

Though some of you out there might find it hard to believe, given the long hours we spend here “beating unreasonable deadlines since 1966,” we do occasionally get out of the office.  And when we do find ourselves out and about socializing with people unfamiliar with our transcription biz, we oftentimes are presented with this statement/question:

“Transcription.  Mmmm… that’s interesting.  What exactly do you transcribe?”

Of course we go through our laundry list of fascinating transcription topics, but nothing gets a conversation moving faster than mentioning StoryCorps.

And with good reason.  In just seven years, StoryCorps has grown from a modest startup with big ambitions into a full-on national non-profit movement.

WHAT, IS THAT LIKE THE PEACE CORPS OR SOMETHING?

Well, yes, kind of.  StoryCorps is a public service, but its mission is the recording and preservation of the stories of everyday Americans.  It is one the largest, most unique oral history projects, and also one of the first and largest born-digital oral history collections — comprised of over 50,000 interviews, recorded in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

“By listening closely to one another, we can help illuminate the true character of this nation reminding us all just how precious each day can be and how truly great it is to be alive.” – StoryCorps’ Founder, Dave Isay

It all began with one recording booth in NYC’s Grand Central Terminal in 2003.  Now, in 2010, StoryCorps has recording booths in Milwaukee, Nashville, Atlanta and San Francisco, plus two MobileBooths (housed in nifty fifties Airstream trailers) that have traveled to more than 100 cities in 48 states.

The grand total of interviews?  Well over 50,000 and counting.

The compact recording facilities provide a professional-grade environment for ordinary people to share and listen with an end result of broadcast quality audio on a CD they can take home.  The interviews are in turn added to the StoryCorps Archive, housed at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

You can hear specially selected interviews Friday mornings on NPR’s Morning Edition. These stories are also available for listening on the StoryCorps’ site, or subscribing to the their podcast.  Or, listen to some on the player below!
Put my show and this player on your website or your social network.

http://www.bigcontact.com/feedplayer-slim.swf?r=2&xmlurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%252enpr%252eorg%2Frss%2Fpodcast%252ephp%3Fid%3D510200

“TRANSCRIPTION IS OUR BUSINESS, ORAL HISTORY IS OUR PASSION”
That’s our company motto, coined by Sandy, Audio Transcription Center’s founder and president.  Naturally for us, working with StoryCorps is a perfect fit.  And boy, do we love working from that pristine digital audio — although, many a transcriptionist has been moved to tears or laughter (frequently both) while working on SC interviews.

We’ve been transcribing select groups of interviews for StoryCorps since 2006, and many of those appeared in the collection Listening is an Act of Love.  (Our services are available to any individuals who would like a transcript of their session.)

Just in time for Mother’s Day this year, Story Corps’ new collection, Mom, hits the shelves of bookstores nationwide April 15.

February 2010 Client Spotlight

February 2010 Client Spotlight - Atc Blog

As one of the largest transcription service providers for historians, academics, and researchers from across the nation, we have the pleasure of being some of the first ears and eyes to handle diverse and extremely exciting source material.

Hardly a day goes by where the team here at The Tape Transcription Center isn’t amazed or excited (or even inspired!) by the projects that come through our humble office here on the Common.

Now, we’ve decided to take the opportunity with our blog to initiate a monthly spotlight on some of our fascinating clients and their work.* Right at the top of our list of people-and-projects-we-want-to-tell-the-world-about-via-the-internet is Peniel E. Joseph and his pioneering work on the history of the Black Power movement in America.

A Professor of History at Tufts University, Dr. Joseph is a pioneer in the field of “Black Power Studies,” and a frequent commentator who’s appeared on NPR, PBS’s Newshour, and C-SPAN.

Dr. Joseph became one of our clients when he was an Assistant Professor at SUNY-Stony Brook and was working on what would become his critically acclaimed, award-winning non-fiction book, “Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour: A History of Black Power in America.”

He has served on the faculty at Brandeis and is currently a tenured professor at Tufts. His latest book, “Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama,” hit the shelves this past January.

Currently, Dr. Joseph is in the process of working on a new book focusing specifically on the controversial Civil Rights activist Stokely Carmichael, a.k.a. Kwame Ture.

*Caveat: As excited as we may be about the work we do here, privacy is absolutely essential for many of our clients. Therefore, we will only feature clients whose work is already shared with the public and who have given us express prior permission.