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I am a digital immigrant with an infinite love for narrative and a history of making radio.
I find particular joy in working with photographers, because they understand the importance of being fully present in the moment.
I believe that listening is the beginning of understanding, and I believe that stories have the power to change our lives.
Author Archives: Michelle
Lester, thank you for being
Lester Davis isn’t shy about telling the story of his 20-year addiction to crack cocaine, nor is he reluctant to give thanks to the people who helped him find love and redemption and a deeper, truer sense of connection with … Continue reading
Posted in New Media
Tagged Lester Davis, recovery, video
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I Made That!
Cookie’s doghouse is now famously enshrined within the awesome goodness that is radio show “Destination DIY”, produced by Julie Sabatier in Portland, Ore., along with the stories of a stay-at-home dad/home brewer, a woman who knitted a farm, and the … Continue reading
In the Doghouse
One thing really does lead to another. Last fall, John Steinberger was sitting in his back yard, idly thinking about his neighbor, Lisa. She’d just put her house on the market, and she’d just gotten a new dog. He didn’t … Continue reading
A River of the People
About a year ago, writer Phoebe Zerwick and photojournalist Christine Rucker set out on an audacious project to tell the story of the Yadkin River. The river is right now the focus of an intense fight between Alcoa and the … Continue reading
Posted in New Media
Tagged audio, Christine, Michelle, multimedia, Phoebe, Yadkin River
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The Murders at Grassy Creek
When three people were murdered on a Grayson County, Va., Christmas tree farm, suspicion soon focused on Freddie Hammer, a man who earned his living chopping firewood and doing odd jobs in neighboring Ashe County, N.C. In 2008, reporter Monte … Continue reading
Posted in General
Tagged Grassy Creek, Michelle, multimedia, photograph, video
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A Warmer, Happier Place
A couple of years ago, a group of students at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina, joined forces with a Buncombe County program to weatherize the homes of low-income homeowners as a way to save money — and energy. The … Continue reading
The Need to Read
About four years ago, I was among a group of radio producers who worked on a documentary project that focused on two main questions: What is poverty? And how has poverty changed since the 1960s, when it was a subject … Continue reading
Confronting the Achievement Gap
Mount Tabor High School, in Winston-Salem, N.C., tried to close the ‘achievement gap’ by pushing more students into rigorous course work. The approach fixed some problems, but created others — more non-white students were taking advanced placement or honors courses … Continue reading
Posted in Broadcast
Tagged achievement gap, Michelle, radio, WUNC
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Jousting with the Dictionary
The story of spelling whiz Josiah Wright, a home-schooler from Fleetwood, N.C., in Ashe County, was one of my very early video pieces, and despite its vast imperfections it is still one of my favorites. Josiah represented Northwest N.C. at … Continue reading
Posted in New Media
Tagged Josiah Wright, Journal, Michelle, multimedia, spelling, video
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Suicide on Campus
Two long months have passed and the door to the room where Paul Wilfong lived at the N.C. School of the Arts remains locked, the shades closed. On Thanksgiving night, Wilfong, 22, a fourth-year student in modern dance, turned down … Continue reading
A Strict Protocol
With a blue-chip pedigree, Dr. William Frederick McGuirt Jr. used to be a respected member of the faculty at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Now, he is scheduled to go before the N.C. Medical Board on charges that … Continue reading