| StoryCorps in Cincinnati
Thursday, May 15 - Saturday, June 7
Sponsored by The Otto M Budig Family Foundation and The Communicating Arts Credit Union
 On May 15, Cincinnati welcomes StoryCorps, a national initiative to instruct and inspire ordinary Americans to record meaningful oral histories with family members and friends. The StoryCorps mobile recording booth will spend a month at the Cincinnati Museum Center, in conjunction with their 75th anniversary celebration of Union Terminal… the building which now houses the center..
StoryCorps is the spiritual heir to the documentary projects created under the W.P.A. more than half a century ago, which remains today—despite only lasting for four years—the most important social documentary archive ever created. "StoryCorps is a manifestation of the 15-year mission of Sound Portraits Productions to tell the stories of ordinary Americans with dignity, celebrating the power and poetry in their words," creator David Isay said. "We believe that StoryCorps will engage communities, teach participants to become better listeners, foster intergenerational communication, and help Americans appreciate the strength in the stories of everyday people they find all around them." StoryCorps was also featured on the March 23rd edition WVXU's Cincinnati Edition program.
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Terry Scott from StoryCorps
91.7 WVXU's News Director Maryanne Zeleznik talks with Terry Scott, Senior Coordinator for StoryCorps Mobile about StoryCorps and how people can take part in this project. |
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StoryCorps places soundproof booths across the country where Americans can bring older relatives—or other loved ones—to conduct broadcast-quality oral history interviews with the guidance of a trained facilitator. At the booth, the facilitator will help create a question list, and handle all of the technical aspects of the recording. At the end of the forty-minute session, the participants will walk away with a CD of their interview. With their permission, a second copy will become part of the archive housed at the Library of Congress. The archive at the Library of Congress will enable families for generations to come to have access to their stories in a high-quality digital format. A third copy will be placed in the archives of the Cincinnati Historical Society at the Museum Center.
The mission of StoryCorps is to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening. We accomplish this by providing access both to the StoryCorps interview experience and to the content that emerges from these interviews.
StoryCorps reminds us of the importance of listening to and learning from those around us. It celebrates our shared humanity. It tells people that their lives matter and they won’t be forgotten. Through StoryCorps, we hope to create a kinder, more thoughtful and compassionate nation.
StoryCorps Registration Information
Many listeners are inquiring about how to schedule a recording with StoryCorps during its stop in Cincinnati. All interview times for StoryCorps are done by reservation. Reservations open at 10 am Thursday, May 1, and can be done either through the StoryCorps website: www.storycorps.net or by phone at 1-800-850-4406.
WVXU does not handle any of the reservations. A second flight of reservation slots will open up on Friday, May 16, after the official opening of the StoryCorps booth in Cincinnati. The same website and phone number will be used then as well. |
