Features for WDET
Laura currently works as a feature storyteller at 101.9 FM WDET, Detroit’s NPR station. You can listen to her latest work here. Recent award winners include The Origin of the MJR Clap and Some Detroiters Can Swap Their Homes for Houses in the Land Bank.
Complete Me
Complete Me is a sound-rich, narrative podcast, where each episode documents an attempt by Laura to check a task off of her to do list. The Huffington Post writes, “On the surface, it may sound as exciting as reading the nutritional info off a carton of milk, but in practice, Herberg is engaging and interesting.” Find out how to listen to the podcast here.
Sundays at the Carpet House
Laura and photographer Amy Sacka spent an entire summer documenting a weekly gathering of Detroiters at an abandoned lot known as the Carpet House. The event is part music festival, part family reunion, part summer BBQ. The work was produced for WDET’s Framed By series. Laura created four audio pieces that were available for listening in a gallery setting alongside Amy’s photos. One of them, an audio profile, won first place from the Michigan Associated Press, the Michigan Association of Broadcasters and the Society of Professional Journalists Detroit.
Delray: Beyond Isolation
Working with documentary photographer Kenny Karpov, Laura told stories of residents and businesses in the southwest Detroit neighborhood of Delray. The once-booming community suffered massive population losses over the last half century. It’s been said that the area can be seen as a kind of microcosm for the city. In recent years, a proposed bridge to Canada from Delray has further complicated the state of the neighborhood.
As part of the project, Laura produced the feature audio story, Delray Cafe Owner Waits for New International Bridge, which aired on WDET 101.9 FM. The project culminated in two gallery shows that featured an installation of photos and audio. You can explore some of the content from this project online here.
Listen to Detroit
Laura received a SoundCloud Fellowship to produce a prototype for a mobile audio tour of Detroit called Listen to Detroit, in 2012. For the project, Laura and her team created free mobile audio guides that told the stories behind interesting Detroit places. Participants can visit these landmarks and access the free audio guides on-site via their cell phones. They even used to be able to dial the phone number to hear the pieces! Explore the project here.
Dearborn’s Ford Drive In
A sound-rich profile of Southeast Michigan’s last surviving drive in movie theater. This was Laura’s first feature story to air on WDET. It won first place for Radio Broadcast, Feature Reporting for the Society of Professional Journalists Detroit. Listen to the piece and click through an accompanying slide-show here.
Laura Herberg 