By Jessica Zech
Student Writer
Documentarians Dan Birman (pictured), who is a journalism professor, and Megan Chao, who graduated from USC Annenberg with a master’s in broadcast journalism in 2008, will tell the story of the fastest woman on a motorcycle in a one-hour show with a working title, “Chasing Speed.”
Leslie Porterfield, 33, overcame a difficult childhood, broke stereotypes as a woman devoted to speed, and went 246.6 mph on a motorcycle to claim the Guinness World Record title.
In January 2011, Birman and Chao began pitching the show concept to various networks. They eventually signed a contract with Velocity, a network Discovery launched in October.
“It hit with Velocity because they’re all about speed, they’re all about expensive toys, it’s kind of a male-oriented audience,” said Chao, who is adjunct faculty at USC Annenberg and is the line producer for Impact. “They like Leslie because she’s different and she’s interesting.”
They followed Porterfield’s 2011 world record races at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah this past summer.
“The Bonneville Salt Flats,” said Birman, “is a historic setting that, for decades, has been a prime location for people setting land speed records.”
They also spent time with her at a wind-tunnel at Wichita State University, where she tested her bikes to see if they could withstand the speeds she rides; and are currently in Dallas, Texas, where she lives and owns a motorcycle shop called High Five Cycles.
The project that is tentatively scheduled to air in late spring is something new for experienced journalist Birman.
“One of the great things about being a documentarian is we get to explore all corners of the world. And what we find here is a world that in all my years of television I’ve never explored,” said Birman, who runs his own production company.
To him, “journalism is a privilege” not only because he gets to experience amazing things, but also because USC Annenberg allows him to continue his documentary work and bring professional experience into the classroom — real-world experience that Chao said is valuable for students.
“Both the undergrad and grad students spend so much time on short news packages that when they’re exposed to something much larger, they turn around and look at news differently,” said Chao, who will also edit the show. “They take away a lot more from it.”
