It's All Journalism

The broccoli of media-focused podcasts.

  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • FAQ
  • How to Podcast
  • Newsletter
  • Take a Survey

#59 – You should meet NPR’s Stephen Thompson

September 28, 2013 by ItsAllJournalism
http://media.blubrry.com/itsalljournalism/content.blubrry.com/itsalljournalism/StephenThompson-final.mp3

Wouldn’t you want to meet the person responsible for The A.V. Club, the entertainment and culture sister publication of The Onion?

Stephen Thompson, who now works as a writer and editor for NPR Music, got in on the ground floor at The Onion, a farcical publication that mocks current events and media. He started writing there when he was just 20 years still a student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. It was the early 1990s and The Onion was a only a couple of years old at that point, but the staff had grand aspirations.

Stephen Thompson of NPR talks to It's All Journalism producers Julia O'Donoghue and Michael O'Connell about  the places humor intersects with music, podcasting and journalism. (Photo by Michael O'Connell)

Stephen Thompson of NPR talks to It’s All Journalism producers Julia O’Donoghue and Michael O’Connell about the places humor intersects with music, podcasting and journalism. (Photo by Michael O’Connell)

“We had dreams of being the next Spy Magazine. We had dreams of being the next Mad Magazine,” said Thompson, who lives outside of Washington, D.C.

At the ripe, old age of 21, Thompson was put in charge of The Onion’s entertainment section, which eventually morphed into The A.V. Club. Unlike the front section of The Onion, the entertainment section was supposed to taken somewhat seriously. It was not played for laughs.

“The comedy staff could only generate so much comedy. You needed other stuff to put in the paper,” he said.

Thompson stayed at The Onion for 12 years, watching it transition from a tabloid only circulated in his college town to a global brand. Finally, feeling burnt out, he decided to take a time out from his career.

While attending the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, he struck up a conversation with an NPR arts reporter who helped him get his next job in Washington, D.C. Thompson helped start NPR Music in 2007.

Thompson also helped create the Tiny Desk Concert series, where musicians come perform at his coworker’s desk in the NPR building. We discussed a couple of specific Tiny Desk Concerts on the podcast – specifically the Adele and Wilco appearances.

Thompson writes about music for NPR, but he considers himself more of a curator than a critic.

“In part because there is limited air time, you almost just don’t have the time. … Why waste your time on bad music?” he said.

Thompson also appears on the The Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast (a personal favorite) and the All Songs Considered podcast.

“The way we designed it was it was the sort of conversations we had anyway,” said Thompson of Pop Culture Happy Hour.

That’s actually the first place I found Thompson. The podcast’s panelists seemed so delightful that I decided I was going to invite one of them onto our podcast. My scheme worked! So you should listen up!

— Julia O’Donoghue

Similar Podcasts

Elise Hu and Matt Stiles build reputation for innovation at NPR

NPR’s apps editor Brian Boyer turns data into stories

Doug Mitchell fosters next generation of media entrepreneurs

Share Button
If you like this post, please share it along:

Previous Post


#58 – What everyone should know about Slate Editor David Plotz

Next Post

Aisha Chowdhry started her journalism career by filming a documentary in Pakistan. (Photo by Michael O'Connell)
#60 – Documentary launches Aisha Chowdhry’s journalism career

Leave a Reply Cancel reply




Related Posts

  • IAJ partners with API on new podcast mini-series
  • coronavirus coverage402. Covering coronavirus in useful, trustworthy ways
  • Rachel Dissell427. Crime reporting: Covering violence and trauma
  • #9 – ONA MJ Bear Fellow Tricia Fulks on taking the freelance leap from print to documentary (Video)

Learn How To Podcast

Turn Up the Volume equips journalism students, professionals, and others interested in producing audio content with the know-how necessary to launch a podcast for the first time. It addresses the unique challenges beginner podcasters face in producing professional level audio for online distribution. Beginners can learn how to handle the technical and conceptual challenges of launching, editing, and posting a podcast.

Order this new book by It’s All Journalism Producer Michael O’Connell.

Take a Survey, Earn Some Swag

If you haven’t heard, we created a five-question online survey to help us assemble a toolbox for journalists that we’ll share on our podcast and website. Please take a few minutes to share the tools that help make your job easier.

We’ve also just launched a new survey on how to improve our podcast. Let us know how we could do better.

To those people who complete one of our the surveys, we’ll be sending out a limited number of It’s All Journalism coffee mugs while supplies last. Show your support for good journalism by taking the survey and get a reward in return.

Help Support Our Podcast

Promoting good journalism is essential in a democracy. By donating to the It’s All Journalism Patreon page, you will help ensure that we continue producing the weekly podcast that focuses on good journalism. You’ll also help to boost us to the next level with live events and exclusive content. Donate here.

Sign Up for Our Weekly Newsletter

Latest Posts

  • Better News: Nonprofit newsrooms turn rivalry into revenue stream
  • 456. What Is Life shares stories of prisoners facing life sentences
  • 455. Making Google, Facebook pay their fair share for news
  • 454. Solutions Journalism tackles community problems
  • 453. Making sure Wikipedia shows that Women Do News

Copyright © 2021 · Pintercast Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in