News
Ardalan Moderates New Media Panel at Columbia University
Columbia University Event April 17, 2009
New Generation, New Perspectives, New Media is a unique interactive forum that brings together an outstanding group of young Iranian and Iranian-American journalists, academics, bloggers and analysts with a wide range of perspectives on the future of Iran. What sets this forum apart from traditional conferences is the active role of the audience in shaping the discourse. In the morning sessions, panelists will provide discussion openers on critical issues related to various aspects of social change in Iran and engage the audience (both present and online) in an in-depth collaborative discussion on these topics during the afternoon sessions. Leveraging the power of Tweets, live blogging, and real-time videocasting technologies, the final product of the forum will be a set of collaborative artifacts generated by the speakers and the participants throughout the day.
Farewell NPR Family
March 5, 2010 - It is hard to believe I have been in public broadcasting for twenty years. I began in public radio as a reporter at KUNM in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1991 and began working at NPR News in 1993, after attending a diversity initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in Washington D.C. At the time, NPR Producer Doug Mitchell was on the Advisory Board and had seen my application. Doug insisted I be given a chance.
I took a risk and moved to Washington from Albuquerque in June of 1993 with the assurance of two weeks’ worth of temp work on Weekend Edition Saturday. The following year, Robert Malesky of Weekend Edition Sunday hired me as a Production Assistant.
For the next few years, I roamed the NPR Headquarters, like a novice naqqal (Persian storyteller) in awe of everyone around me. Watching Producers Cindy Carpien, Walter Ray Watson, Ned Wharton and Fred Wasser in action reminded me of the carpet weavers I had seen in Iran designing an intricate Persian carpet. The way the producers listened for sound, the way they made edit marks on analog tape, rocking the tape back and forth ever so conscious of the rhythm and narrative of the story they were editing, was simply a marvel to listen to and captivating to watch. Full entry here
Top 10 Twitter Tips
As many of you know, Weekend Edition has been on Twitter for more than a year. We’ve now come up with some tips on how we use the social networking site in our newsroom. To remind you, our radio program’s Twitter name is @nprweekend, Scott is @nprscottsimon and Liane is @nprliane.
1) It’s a two-way relationship: We try to reply to at least a few messages each day. If our followers can find a few seconds for us, we can find a few seconds for them. And we have chosen a variety of newsmakers, interesting people or groups to follow ourselves. For example, Weekend Edition follows @newtgingrich @ariannahuff @kasuradio @latinousa @mindyfinn @TheRevAl @badbanana @tucsonweekly @radioopensource among some 700 others…Full entry here
PRPD News For Programmers
January 20, 2010 - Social networking can help build audience. That’s one of the findings contained in a survey done of NPR’s Weekend Edition. In specific Senior Producer Davar Ardalan blogged: ”... the longer listeners follow Weekend Edition on Facebook and/or Twitter, the more positive their opinions of the show (Weekend Saturday and Sunday) and NPR become and they listen more.”
Weekend Edition polled some 7,200 listeners about their listening and social networking habits. Ardalan said those participants were drawn from: “... the NPR Listens national online listener panel, on-air call outs during Weekend Edition on December 19th & 20th, Facebook postings from Weekend Edition, as well as tweets from Liane Hansen, Scott Simon, myself and other Weekend Edition staff.” Read more
The Rock River Times - Rockford, IL
March 28, 2009 Davar Ardalan, author of My Name is Iran: A Memoir, will speak at Rockford College at 4 p.m., March 29, in the college’s Maddox Theater. In her book, Ardalan describes what it was like to grow up in revolutionary Iran. She is now a senior producer of Weekend Edition on National Public Radio, heard locally on WNIJ, Northern Public Radio 89.5. Ardalan’s given name, Iran, inspired the 2004 NPR/American Radioworks series, My Name is Iran. In the stories, she explored the country for which she was named, tracing her Iranian heritage and her own experiences after the 1979 Islamic revolution. The struggle of a nation as reflected in her family’s story led to a memoir published by Henry Holt in January 2007….Read more
Minnesota Public Radio LIVE March 1, 2007
St. Paul, Minn. — As an Iranian now living in the United States, Davar Ardalan has faced challenges trying to bridge the cultures of her two homelands. Ardalan has written a new book, “My Name is Iran,” which traces her life in both countries. Ardalan speaks at the Westminster Town Hall Forum Thursday. Her speech is titled “Beloved Homelands: Iran and America.” LISTEN TO THE LIVE BROADCAST: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/03/01/midday2/
WNYC - New York February 19, 2007
The Leonard Lopate Show
Place and Identity - Davar Ardalan speaks to Leonard Lopate about the different lives she’s led in Iran and America.
KPCC with Patt Morrison - February 9, 2007
In a story about three generations of women moving back and forth between Iran and the United States, Davar Ardalan details her life growing up in two nations at cultural polar opposites. Her memoir, My Name is Iran (Henry Holt and Co.), details three women’s ordeals with love, revolution and the search for understanding two societies.
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