PLACE.

After listening to ‘A Sense Of Place’ & ‘Poetry Texas’ I was struck with the importance of place and the ability of a presenter immersing themselves in the environment they are wishing to encapsulate and display to the world.

Having listened to the two pieces that employ two differing styles of presenting the importance of place, enabled me to gain a more holistic perspective on why PLACE plays such a pivotal role in a story.

‘Poetry Texas’ immersed the listener in the place and displayed the story in a dualistic fashion, juxtaposing the literal place of Poetry, Texas against the word Poetry; enabling a clever lexical interplay of locale to unfold. By having the presenter (Pejk Malinowski) take control of the piece and making himself an equal part of the narrative as the subjects, and interjecting the literal place he is in with the figurative space of Poetry as a concept (imposing his views and memories onto the piece) the listener is compelled to engage with the concepts he is highlighting.

IN CONTRAST

‘A Sense Of Place’ acts as a highly expository piece that highlights the importance of a journalists ability to emerge themselves into the place they are aiming to investigate and the differing ways to do so. This piece acts as a sort of direct address to the listener, that places the producer at the front and centre of it. Highlighting the importance of being confident and understanding, the piece further addresses the necessity of the producer to fully engage with the subjects they are aiming to portray while also displaying the tendencies and procedure that will enable you (as a producer) to gain the poignant stories. Encapsulating this notion is the Hurricane Catrina story. A first hand piece that shows the listener the necessity of following your gut and documenting all facets of the story and not being afraid of approaching subjects and connecting with them.

Both these pieces have both inspired and frightened me about choosing a place to document for the ’24 Hours Folio’ as I, as a somewhat introverted person, will have to fully immerse myself in whatever location I choose.

– donandsherri