Radio World Buyer’s Guide articles are intended to help readers understand why their colleagues chose particular products to solve various technical situations. This month’s stories focus on products that support online content delivery.
Since 1987, “Fresh Air” has been one of public radio’s most iconic programs.
“Long-form interviews are an integral part of how we deliver insightful content from a wide range of leading figures,” said WHYY Media Technology Manager Julian Herzfeld.
The show is one of public media’s most popular programs, with over 4 million people tuning in each week on 658 NPR stations. In addition, it has 4 million weekly podcast downloads and is the number 1 podcast in its genre on Apple.
“After ISDN was phased out completely four years ago, we transitioned to high-quality IP audio technologies for recording remote interviews because phone quality audio is not great,” Herzfeld said.
“WHYY purchased a Tieline Merlin codec and Report-IT in 2019 to facilitate obtaining pristine audio from interviewees using IP connections.”
The team usually records interviews for “Fresh Air” and edits them, so tape sync is used extensively. Longtime host Terry Gross and L.A.-based host Tonya Mosley are recorded at the studio end, and WHYY uses Report-IT to interview remotely located guests.
Report-IT Enterprise is a free app for iOS or Android that interviewees can download on their smartphone.
“We configure Report-IT app settings and provide login credentials to each guest. They download the app, log in, and tap ‘connect’ to dial and connect securely to our Merlin codec at the studio.”
Herzfeld said it’s simple for users to operate and Tieline’s TieServer manages the connections and settings on the remote device securely, so interviewees need no technical expertise and aren’t exposed to IP address details or other technical information.
“With Report-IT the audio quality is high fidelity for real-time live connections,” he said. Guests can plug in accessories to improve listening and interview audio quality, or use the built-in phone microphone.
However, IP connectivity can be challenging in some situations.
“For example, we interview people from all around the world, and access to reliable internet can be challenging at times in war zones or very remote areas. Dropouts can occur if data network connectivity is poor and this is where Report-IT really delivers.”
The app can be configured to automatically record the guest locally on their smartphone in 20 kHz audio quality during their interview. Then afterwards the app can automatically upload the recording to WHYY’s secure server, allowing them to download a perfect recording from the phone and use Pro Tools to edit the interview package for broadcast.
“We use the Tieline gear every week and it is integral to how we deliver ‘Fresh Air’ programming. Other programs like WHYY’s ‘The Pulse,’ our daily live talk show, and our news services, also use Report-IT and the Merlin codec extensively for interviews. Report-IT’s live audio and FTP file upload solution is secure, robust and the quality is excellent, providing the flexibility to deliver excellent programming to a wide audience each week.”
“Fresh Air” archives are available to download from www.freshairarchives.org.
