{{short description|American journalist}} {{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see :Template:Infobox writer/doc --> | image = Jay Allison accepts the Peabody Award, May 2004 (2).jpg | imagesize = | name = Jay Allison | caption = Jay Allison at the 2004 Peabody Awards | pseudonym = | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Journalist, Public Radio Producer | nationality = American | period = | genre = | movement = | notableworks = The Moth Radio Hour, This I Believe | influences = | influenced = | website = {{URL|http://jayallison.com/}} | awards = {{plainlist| *Peabody Award *Edward R. Murrow Award (Corporation for Public Broadcasting) }} | spouse = Melissa Allison | education = Trinity College (Connecticut) }} '''Jay Allison''' is an American public radio producer and broadcast journalist.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Woodruff |first=Judy |date=September 20, 2018 |title=Brief But Spectacular: Jay Allison |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/brief/277560/jay-allison |access-date=April 1, 2024 |work=PBS News Hour}}</ref> He is the executive director of Atlantic Public Media (APM). Through APM, he created platforms for independent audio producers, including Public Radio Exchange (PRX)<ref name=":1" /> and the educational website Transom.org.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Ugwu |first=Reggie |date=March 7, 2023 |title='Don't Break It!' The New Hosts of 'Radiolab' Remodel a Landmark |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/07/arts/radiolab-new-hosts-lulu-miller-latif-nasser.html |access-date=April 1, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> Through APM, he also founded the public radio stations WNAN and WCAI, serving the Cape Cod region of Massachusetts.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Gladstone |first=Valerie |date=June 3, 2001 |title=Bringing in Public Radio, and Bringing People Together |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/03/arts/television-radio-bringing-in-public-radio-and-bringing-people-together.html |access-date=April 1, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>
Allison is the producer of ''The Moth Radio Hour''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Grandoni |first=Dino |date=July 26, 2015 |title=Ads for Podcasts Test the Line Between Story and Sponsor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/27/business/media/ads-for-podcasts-test-the-line-between-story-and-sponsor.html |access-date=April 1, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> He also produces many audio documentaries and series that appear within other radio programs. These include ''Lost and Found Sound'', ''The Miles Davis Radio Project'',<ref name=":1" /> and a revival of the 1950s-era program ''This I Believe''.<ref name=":6" /> Allison has earned numerous awards for his work, including the Peabody Award<ref name=":3" /> and the Edward R. Murrow Award for outstanding contributions to public radio.<ref name=":2">[http://www.cpb.org/aboutpb/awards/murrow/list.html CPB: Recipients of the Edward R. Murrow Award] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080416121756/http://www.cpb.org/aboutpb/awards/murrow/list.html|date=2008-04-16}}</ref>
== Education == Allison received a B.A. in English from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1973. After graduation, he studied children’s theater in Eastern and Western Europe on a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-02-18 |title=Resume |url=https://jayallison.com/about/resume/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Jay Allison |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Career == Allison started his career in theater as an actor. He began producing for radio in 1977 after a friend who worked at NPR loaned him a tape recorder. He taught himself to record, edit, and mix audio. He became known early on for integrating dramatic, theatrical sound design into stories. Over the years, he co-produced many audio documentaries and features, including "Beyond Affliction: The Disability History Project" (1999) and "Lost and Found Sound" (1999-2001).<ref name=":1" /> Many of these stories appeared within other radio programs.<ref name=":3" />
In 1991, Allison was a co-producer for "The Miles Davis Radio Project,"<ref name=":1" /> a multi-part audio series timed with the writing of Miles Davis's autobiography. The other producers were music documentarian Steve Rowland<ref name=":5" /> and poet Quincy Troupe, who co-wrote Davis's autobiography.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Trescott |first=Jacqueline |date=November 22, 1989 |title=The Poet in Pursuit of Two Legends: Miles Davis & James Baldwin, as told to Quincy Troupe |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1989/11/22/the-poet-in-pursuit-of-two-legends/de28ad62-c471-42d2-90fc-9210562709e6/ |access-date=April 6, 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> The series incorporated original and archived interviews with Davis alongside new, previously unreleased interviews. The series also put forward studio outtakes and rare recordings, including Davis's never-before-heard first recording with John Coltrane. Actor Danny Glover hosted the series. The project won a Peabody Award,<ref>{{Cite news |date=April 4, 1992 |title=Public Radio Wins Award for Thomas-Panel Reports |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/04/arts/public-radio-wins-award-for-thomas-panel-reports.html?searchResultPosition=2 |access-date=April 6, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> and was viewed at the time as Davis's definitive audio biography.<ref name=":5" />
In 1993, Allison founded the non-profit Atlantic Public Media (originally named Cape and Islands Community Radio) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where he lived. His goal was to establish a public radio station serving Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. The region had been designated as "underserved" by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In 1997, APM got licenses from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to build two radio stations, one in Nantucket and one in Woods Hole.<ref name=":1" /> APM later formed a partnership with the Boston public radio station WGBH, through which WGBH built and operated the stations. In 2000, the radio stations WNAN, serving Nantucket, and WCAI, serving Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod, went live.<ref name=":1" />
On WNAN and WCAI, Allison aired nationally syndicated radio shows, like ''All Things Considered'', and also created local programming. Allison's goal was to both capture local character and counter local rivalries, by highlighting human stories.<ref name=":1" /> He created a series of short radio spots, called "sonic IDs," which were created by local people and interspersed with programming. These short 30- or 60-second spots featured local people sharing anecdotes or oral histories. Some of the topics covered included the proper way to hang laundry on a line, the benefits of boat-building, or a memory of local store that since closed.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Allison |first=Jay |date=May 14, 2001 |title=Sonic IDs: Bursts of lush and local life are new stations' trademark |url=https://current.org/2001/05/sonic-ids-bursts-of-lush-and-local-life-are-new-stations-trademark/ |access-date=April 9, 2024 |work=Current: News for people in public media}}</ref> As of 2012, the stations had hundreds of these spots in rotation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Allison |first=Jay |date=June 20, 2012 |title=Speech from Public Radio Program Directors Annual Conference: 'If we can imagine it, why don't we do it?' |url=https://current.org/2012/06/14260/ |access-date=April 9, 2024 |work=Current: News for People in Public Media}}</ref>
In 2001, Allison launched Transom.org, a community website where new producers can take online classes, share their work and receive feedback.<ref name=":6" /> In 2003, Allison received the Peabody Award for Transom.org. It was the first free-standing website to receive the award.<ref name=":7" />
In 2003, Allison launched Public Radio Exchange (PRX), a digital marketplace where content from independent producers can be discovered and purchased by radio stations across the U.S.<ref name=":6" /> His goal was to create more opportunity for new producers, and for different kinds of content that didn't fit into existing programs.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Janssen |first=Mike |date=May 12, 2003 |title=Online audio market Public Radio Exchange begins beta test this month |url=https://current.org/2003/05/online-audio-market-public-radio-exchange-begins-beta-test-this-month/ |access-date=April 10, 2024 |work=Current: News for People in Public Media}}</ref>
In 2005, Allison and his collaborator Dan Gediman revived Edward R. Murrow's 1950s radio program,''This I Believe''. The series collected short audio essays, told in the first-person, in which people express a deeply held belief. The series premiered as a segment within the NPR shows ''All Things Considered'' and ''Morning Edition'' in 2005.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Cowan |first=Lauren |date=2006 |title=Profile of Jay Allison: "Following the Heard: How Jay Allison Went Searching for Sound and Inspired a Radio Revolution" |url=http://artspolicy.colum.edu/DVProfiles.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060521100245/http://artspolicy.colum.edu/DVProfiles.html |archive-date=May 21, 2006 |website=Center for Arts Policy}}</ref>
== Awards == Allison has received six Peabody Awards. In 1985, Allison received the Peabody Award for the 3-part radio series on mental illness, "Breakdown and Back."<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=June 1985 |title=1985 Peabody Award Winner: Breakdown and Back |url=https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/breakdown-and-back/ |access-date=April 5, 2024 |website=The Peabody Awards}}</ref> In 1991, Allison received the Peabody Award for the radio biography, "The Miles Davis Radio Project."<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=June 1991 |title=1991 Peabody Award Winner: The Miles Davis Project |url=https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/the-miles-davis-radio-project/ |access-date=April 5, 2024 |website=The Peabody Awards}}</ref> In 1999, Allison received the Peabody Award for the series "Lost & Found Sound," which appeared on the program All Things Considered.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=1999 Peabody Award Winner: Lost & Found Sound |url=https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/lost-found-sound/ |access-date=April 3, 2024 |website=The Peabody Awards}}</ref> In 2002, Allison received the Peabody Award for the Sonic Memorial Project and the corresponding website, both serving as audio commemorations for the events of September 11, 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 2002 |title=2002 Peabody Award Winner: The Sonic Memorial Project |url=https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/the-sonic-memorial-project-sonicmemorial-org/ |access-date=April 5, 2024 |website=The Peabody Awards}}</ref> In 2003, Allison received the Peabody Award for the website Transom.org, the first free-standing website to receive the award.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=June 2003 |title=2003 Peabody Award Winner: Transom.org |url=https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/transom-org/ |access-date=April 4, 2024 |website=The Peabody Awards}}</ref> In 2010, Allison received the Peabody Award for the podcast The Moth Radio Hour.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 2010 |title=2010 Peabody Award Winner: The Moth Radio Hour |url=https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/the-moth-radio-hour/ |access-date=April 5, 2024 |website=The Peabody Awards}}</ref>
Allison was the 1996 recipient of the CPB's Edward R. Murrow Award for outstanding contributions to public radio,<ref name=":2" /> the first independent producer to have received it.
In 2006, Allison received the duPont-Columbia Award for the radio series Hidden Kitchens, created with the Kitchen Sisters.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006 |title=2006 duPont-Columbia Award Winners |url=https://dupont.org/2006winners |access-date=April 5, 2024 |website=The Peabody Awards}}</ref>
==Notes and references== <references/>
==External links== {{commons category|Jay Allison}} * {{Official website|http://www.jayallison.com/}} * [http://www.transom.org/ Transom] * [http://www.prx.org/ Public Radio Exchange] * [http://thoughtcast.org/casts/jay-allison Public Media Maverick Jay Allison] (2007), on [http://thoughtcast.org Thought Cast]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Allison, Jay}} Category:NPR producers Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:20th-century American journalists Category:21st-century American people