On campus, there's that hum of excitement in the air as students find their way to classes, meet new roommates and scurry off to pep rallies and rush week.
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students → be → rallies
And along with the brisk chill in the evening air, a hint of the coming fall, comes the seasonal excitement of intercollegiate competition:
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excitement → come → competition
Once again, students from campuses big and small will vie to win our $5,000 grand prize for the best college podcast in America.
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students → vie → America
Now in its sixth year, the competition has engaged thousands of students from colleges in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
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competition → engage → Columbia
And it's brought to our audience a wide range of compelling stories – from personal narratives to sound-rich explorations of places and events to hard-hitting journalism on issues and topics that are important to students.
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that → bring → students
Our winners and finalists have come from a cross-section of campuses and fields of study:
- A vivid, sound-rich portrayal of life with a rare mental health condition, told with humor and insight from an international student at Miami Dade College.
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winners → come → College
- A Fordham University senior's interviews and personal reflections, in the form of a letter to his grandparents, as they cope with cancer and dementia.
- A Penn State freshman's reporting on a little-known run-in between some rough farm boys from Indiana and a 14-year-old Cassius Clay.
- A Colorado College student's journey of self-discovery when she learned that her biological father — a sperm donor she had always been told was a doctor — was in fact a jazz musician.
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she → cope → fact
The College Podcast Challenge grows out of our NPR Student Podcast Challenge, launched in 2018 for students in grades 4-12, and is joined this year by something entirely new: the Senior Podcast Challenge for people 65 and older.
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Challenge → grow → people
How it works
The rules for this year remain largely unchanged: Send us your audio story, no more than eight minutes in length, and free from any copyrighted music – see our rules page for very specific instructions on that.
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rules → work → that
Each year, we have to disqualify dozens of entries for failing to comply with these basic rules.
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we → have → rules
You can submit here.
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You → submit → ?
We've noticed some positive trends in recent years – the sound production and storytelling have gotten a lot better.
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production → notice → years
Clearly, students today are relaxed and comfortable when speaking into a mic.
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students → speak → mic
You've all gotten much better at editing and producing your stories.
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You → get → stories
But we've also noted a down side to this:
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we → note → this
Just because sound effects are fun and available, it doesn't mean you need them.
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you → mean → them
Especially in the quantity and volume we're hearing in some podcasts.
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we → hear → podcasts
Bottom line, when it comes to sound effects, the fewer the better.
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it → come → effects
Or none at all.
Much the same can be said with music, or "scoring."
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same → say → music
Again, just because you can put music under your entire podcast doesn't mean you should.
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you → put → podcast
First off, that music often violates our strict rules about using original, non-copyrighted music.
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music → violate → music
And second, it's often a distraction: so loud that it drowns out the story you're trying to tell, or so constant that its value is diminished, or lost.
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value → drown → story
We've got details here about how to – selectively – "score" your podcast, and a guide here on how to improve your audio recording.
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We → get → recording
And finally, since our best podcasts will appear on NPR, you should be mindful of the principles and ethics we follow in our journalism.
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we → appear → journalism
First and foremost, you shouldn't be using AI to write or produce any part of your podcast.
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you → use → podcast
Are you taking care to tell both sides of a story?
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you → take → story
Have you reached out for a comment or made an attempt to respect the viewpoints of other people in your story?
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you → reach → story
Have you included full names of characters in your story, and have you avoided revealing details that are private or personal to them?
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that → include → them
Beyond those guidelines, though, all it takes is a good story.
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it → take → guidelines
So, it's time to turn on your mic and start recording!
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it → turn → mic
The Aporia
