By Lara Levin
Student Writer
Town Hall Los Angeles – the city’s “premier public speaking platform” for m
On Sept. 20, Muller hosts guest speaker Henry Jenkins, Provost’s Professor of Communication, Journalism and Cinematic Arts at USC, as they discuss “Gaming: Hollywood’s Future?” Town Hall Journal is a 30-minute news radio show that airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on KPCC 89.3 FM.
Conceived and funded by Town Hall L.A., the program aims to bring the issues from inside the walls of the forum to a larger audience of Angelenos, focusing on issues that are at the forefront of public concern. And guided by her journalistic eye, Muller offers a wide range of opinions, presenting each topic from all sides to offer a balanced story for listeners.
"We want to make people feel as though they’ve had a front seat at town hall,” Muller said. “Basically feel as though they’ve been to some event where various sides of an issue were explored, and it’s very important that it be nonpartisan, nonpolitical, and purely journalistic.”
Muller constructs the show around pre-selected speakers that have recently brought issues to attention in the Town Hall forum, pulling what she calls “greatest hits” sound bites from their speeches to create a clear picture of the problem at hand. While Muller claims this lack of control over the speakers to be her greatest challenge on the program, she welcomes this challenge as well as taking on the task of keeping the show current, as many of the speeches can be up to two months old.
“We want to be as timely as we can be within the framework of this show,” Muller said. “I step back and look at the bigger picture and the themes surrounding the issues.”
To keep “Town Hall Journal” relevant and up-to-date, Muller decided to include the “Five Minutes More” segment, in which the speakers are invited to do an on-air follow-up interview, highlighting any developments or shift in opinion with regard to the point in question. In addition, Muller benefits from having a “vault” of Town Hall archives at her disposal, allowing her to show how the issues have evolved into their present state.
"With this radio magazine, we bring the issues and solutions discussed at Town Hall to all Angelenos through weekly broadcasts, Web streaming and podcasting, courtesy of our partner, KPCC," said Jon Goodman, Ph.D., president of Town Hall. "In essence, our programs are now available to the public on-demand. The 'Journal' maintains our nonpartisan tradition by exploring the conflicts raised at our events with the guidance of accomplished journalist Judy Muller."
Said Muller: “What I like about this show is that perspective — that sense of the past, the present, and trying to predict the future.”
Digging through these archives and selecting the best sound bites to enhance a given story, however, is no easy task, and it is an undertaking entrusted to none other than a familiar face around USC Annenberg, Brian Frank (M.A. Print Journalism ’09).
Muller hand-picked Frank, as well as Annenberg alumna Emily Henry, for her 4-person production team, calling them “two of the best grad students Annenberg has ever had.” Confident in their abilities, Muller asks for their involvement in almost every aspect of production, and having worked with Muller before, Frank appreciates this opportunity.
“Judy is fantastic to work with,” Frank said. “She invites our ideas and trusts us to get the job done. It doesn’t feel so much like you’re working with a professor as you’re working alongside a veteran reporter who happens to be a great mentor.”
Following the program’s first installment, which examined the broken educational system in Los Angeles, Muller plans to cover a number of pertinent issues, ranging from transportation to the legalization of marijuana.
