News [1]

StoryCorps, a national initiative to document everyday history and the unique stories of America, will arrive in Louisville, Kentucky on September 27, 2007 as part of the program’s cross-country tour.  StoryCorps is a project of Sound Portraits Productions in partnership with NPR and the American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress.

The StoryCorps mobile StoryBooth, an Airstream trailer outfitted with a recording studio, will be parked at the Kentucky Center, 501 West Main, from September 27 to November 3. StoryCorps plans to collect over 100 interviews during its stay in Louisville.

StoryCorps is a not-for-profit organization created by award-winning documentary producer and MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipient Dave Isay. This unprecedented project has traveled to every corner of America, instructing and inspiring individuals to record their stories in sound.   StoryCorps is the largest multi-year oral history project ever undertaken.  Since its launch in October 2003, StoryCorps has visited 66 cities in 43 states and collected over 10,000 stories. 

In Louisville, StoryCorps is partnering with WFPL (89.3 FM), Louisville’s NPR news station, which will air a selection of the local stories.  Selected segments may also air nationally on NPR’s Morning Edition.

“Public Radio Partnership is delighted to bring StoryCorps to Louisville,” says Donovan Reynolds, Executive Director.  “This imaginative project is another example of what public radio does best:  seeking out and sharing authentic human voices.”

“As StoryCorps has traveled across the country, we’ve seen the profound effect it has had not only on the lives of those who have participated in the project, but also on the millions who have heard them each week on NPR,” said Isay.  “We are so proud to continue our mission to teach people to become better listeners, foster intergenerational communication among families and communities, and help Americans appreciate the strength in the stories of everyday people they find all around them.”

All StoryCorps interviews are arranged by appointment.  The booth will be open Thursday-Monday, weekdays 11:30-6:30, weekends 9:30-6:30.  The first portion of reservations opened on September 13.  The second half will open on Friday, September 28.  Reservations can be made by calling 1-800-850-4406 or by visiting www.wfpl.org [4].

Information on StoryCorps is available at www.wfpl.org [4] or by contacting Public Radio Partnership deputy director Jon Hoban at (502) 814-6500 or jhoban@prp.org [5].