BEHIND THE SCENES with Helen Borten
You've completed two 13-part series now about "a sense of place." What is it about this theme that works so well for a radio documentary series and what about it captivates your imagination
If the theme of "a sense of place" does work well I think it's because it is universal -- but, obviously, I've stretched the envelope too in order to accommodate stories that interest me. And stories that interest me tend to go against the grain of conventional thinking. I am particularly intrigued by the tension between insiders and outsiders within a community -- stories about belonging and not belonging and how those feelings shape our lives. Discovering strands of continuity between past and present also turns me on; an historical perspective or context is so often lacking in media coverage (and is usually rooted in a sense of place)
Going back to Hollister to find out what happened there on a particular day, to as you say expose "the birth of a myth," is a refreshingly different idea for a radio program. Where did the idea come from
The idea to go back to Hollister came from reading a short mention in a New York Times travel supplement article about California. During the Fourth of July weekend, 1947, some 4,000 outlaw bikers roared up the valley, subjecting the town to two days of postwar future shock. Careening through the streets, performing wheelies on lawns, crashing through stoplights, front windows and bar mirrors, the motorcyclists were an unheard of barbarity in that innocent age. Presently, America came to understand that some new rough beast had slouched out of California. . . . I did not go to expose the birth of a myth. That's what I found. In fact, I was dismayed at first by the lack of sensational details I was expecting; it was only back home in the studio that I realized I had an even more interesting story
Through this series you travel to many places and elicit very intimate information from many different kinds of people, different ages and walks of life, from old miners to women who work in the sex industry. How do you go into a new place and find the people to interview
I find my people in all sorts of ways and, like all reporters, by poking my nose everywhere. In Hollister, for instance, the woman who ran the bookstore knew everybody in town and was a goldmine of names of those old enough to remember the event. They in turn lead you to other people. There is always a self-made town historian and a local newspaper office -- both good sources. The challenge is to find good talkers and the trick is edit, edit, edit
As a stranger, how do you quickly establish a comfortable rapport
People know instantly when you're really interested. I almost never use written questions. I try to be as informal and personal as I can. Maybe the people who open up to me don't feel as if they're being "interviewed" per se and, in a way, that's true. I can get as caught up in the conversation as they are. If you want a role model, I think one of the best interviewers anywhere is Bill Moyers
How important is treating your subjects with respect and a lack of pre-judgment -- two qualities heard in your work
Treating subjects with respect and lack of pre-judgment is all-important and I'm glad that comes across. Maybe the best answer is this excerpt from a letter sent to me at Christmas by Ron Coakes, a farmer in Nebraska: "I hope you will remember me and the wonderful conversation we had together on a very warm afternoon in June of this year. It isn't very often that people such as myself are given the opportunity to share their story with someone who is genuinely interested in what they have to say. . . . By sharing it with someone who is far removed and does not take this lifestyle for granted, I find it much easier to remind myself why I do what I do . . . it has helped me through this very difficult year. Drought, poor prices and a host of other things have taken their toll.
What are you working on now? Are you planning to continue to do work around the theme of a sense of place
I am in the early stages of production of the third season of A Sense of Place and my first field trip comes up next week. The new series is being funded by a major grant from CPB and will be distributed by PRI.