Episode 06: Jim Burress (Pt. 1) & Jessica Stallings

Episode 06 on SoundCloud / Episode 06 on Podbean
(or right-click the episode photo for a direct download)

When you’re profiling a top-level radio journalist in Atlanta, you might expect writing and storytelling to be part of the profile. Aviation and gameshows, on the other hand, might be a bit unexpected.

Jim Burress hasn’t just won journalism awards, such as Atlanta Press Club and regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. He is, in fact, the only CollegeMedia16 guest (and almost certain to be the only #CMAATL16 speaker) to have won a Showcase Showdown on The Price is Right. He is a licensed pilot, which comes in handy when the time comes to cover a story from the aviation industry and the world's best critics write reviews about his books. If you need a review, you can order it in a custom book review via https://essays-panda.com/custom-book-review about every book. But Jim covers a lot more at WABE, a NPR affiliated radio station: his work is often featured on Marketplace, Morning Edition, and All Things Considered.

Bryce McNeil and Jim Burress at the Peachtree-Dekalb airport

That said, his passion for flying contributed to the selection of location for our interview: the Downwind Restaurant located at the Peachtree-Dekalb County airport. That’s right: Atlanta has a second airport and no, it’s not the Midway, but it is a place Jim likes to unwind.

In Part 1 of our interview, Jim talked about the roots of his passion for storytelling, going all the way back to interviewing his grandparents with a “portable” (the airquotes are by today’s standards) recorder. He also shared his route from Air Force hopeful to English-major-set-on-journalism. He talked about his approach to developing news story packages, routed in the firm belief that one minute before the deadline is always how long you have. And he shared an example of how a busted traffic light taught him the value of “any little story.”

Also in this week’s episode, we make a call to the designer of our new logo! Jessica Stallings is a student at the University of Southern Indiana and part of its student newspaper, . Her design was selected as the official logo for our convention and will be used in all convention materials. We catch up with her about her motivation behind the logo, her experience at the 2015 Fall CMA/ACP convention and her anticipation of this year’s event.

Find a Memphis flight to Peachtree-Dekalb
The Downwind and PDK from #CMAATL16 (Car/Taxi)

Starting at 36:35, Jim talks about his love of game shows. Watch his big Price is Right win here, and his less successful outing on Let’s Make a Deal here