In this era of media fragmentation and sound bites, NPR has succeeded and thrived by focusing on its core strength of providing in-depth quality news to its audience. A visit to the NYC NPR offices gave me valuable insights into its daily operations in almost every division of the organization, ranging from NPR News and Music, to Communications, Engineering, and Acoustics.

My day started with a tour of the studios. I saw the engineers and technicians setting up their sound equipment. It was an eye-opening experience to get familiar with the detail and attention put into equalization, audio effects, mixing, reproduction, and reinforcement. It is interesting to note that most is that most interviews and discussions happen in remote locations and not necessarily in the studio, so the sound filtration, clarity and voice modulations are perfected by the professionals with their state-of-the-art equipment. I enjoyed observing and learning from Nick Fountain, the director/producer and Julia Simon, the radio journalist as they prepared for airing of an episode of Planet Money. The talk about Gold Rush and the Mining Act rolled back the years to my eight-grade class, when I first learned about these subjects in some detail. I was educated on how national and international news is shared by the NPR reporters all over the world, the collaborative efforts by the staff, and the processes involved before it is made public to all of us. I saw Ms. Kelly edit stories and articles; ex: Parkland and Hunters, and Puerto Rico. She manages national news coverage across NPR.org and other digital platforms.  She shared some of her experiences at NPR and talked about the challenges of managing fast moving and ever evolving technology that powers the world of social and digital media.

The day was too short but gave me a taste of what it takes for the news to reach us every day, every hour, every minute, and every second. To be part of a team that truly cares, inspires and creates a spark in us, is a dream we all aspire for.