Q & A with Tom Michael, Marfa Public Radio

Interviewer: Hilary Cline, Barefoot Workshops Alum, 2010

Tom Michael, General Manager of Marfa Public Radio, has spent 20 years in media and publishing. He helped to launch Marfa Public Radio in 2007, broadcasting in Far West Texas to a rugged, rural region previously unserved by terrestrial radio. With a mix of national NPR shows and local talk & music programs, KRTS (93.5 FM) is the voice of many West Texas communities. With several volunteers and a professional staff of only three, KRTS is still able to produce an in-depth weekday interview show, syndicate a weekly environmental show, broadcast dozens of original programs every month, and host annual community events. Previously, Mr. Michael worked as a public radio consultant with Livingston Associates, wrote a weekly radio column for Time Out Chicago, and was a freelance writer. For more than 12 years, he was an editor of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, working with leading scholars in American and European geography, history, and politics.

When did you first learn about Barefoot Workshops and do you believe there were any pre-conceived ideas around why the organization was coming to Marfa?

Tom: I first learned about Barefoot in January when I asked Chandler for a radio interview. I then spoke to Chandler in May when we were able to visit together. Marfa is an attractive place for visitors, so it made sense that Barefoot would want to come here.

When you heard that Barefoot would be making documentaries in 12 days, did it seem realistic?

Tom: Although twelve days to learn & produce documentaries is very challenging, it's not too dissimilar to the audio work that Marfa Public Radio sometime requires new audio recruits to perform. "Trial by fire" is how I first learned audio software, when I jumped into a project that was due in two days. I think immersion is a good way to learn, and hard deadlines are very effective.

Did you think a film could be made in 12 days with 1st time filmmakers?

Tom: I think filmmaker Martin Scorsese has said that sound is half of a film; meaning literally 50% of a film frame is audio, and 50% is visual - but also he means you must pay attention to sound. If we have our people work on an audio documentary in two weeks time, it is one thing... but having the visual component and learning the technology of film is ambitious. Like Chandler and Alison, we teach storytelling, interviewing and editing. Although, there is so much more going on in film.

What seems realistic to you in 12 days? Did you think the Barefoot students would be making developed and thought out stories?

Tom: I was pleasantly surprised with the Barefoot Workshops; there was good topic selection and execution. The students did not choose the "usual suspects", which is easy for first-time visitors to do in Marfa. I appreciated their story selection and narrative approach.

After seeing the films, did the stories seem "copy/paste" and formulated or did they seem original/individual?

Tom: I thought they were original stories; the subjects were good and even the images were original.

Do you think the subjects of each Barefoot film were impacted by the experience? How do you think these films affected their lives?

Tom: I know the couple in one documentary, with the goat cheese operation, and I know many of the people in the other film that was shot at a local bar, about the shuffleboard competition. I did not know the main subject of that film. Though, I was able to get to know him better as a result of the film. Based on conversations I heard afterwards, I think the films impacted people, and they shared links to the films on Facebook which may have been even more impactful.

How were members of your community impacted by the two Barefoot documentaries? Did people discuss the stories/films afterwards?

Tom: I had a conversation with the little girl's mother, the girl in the shuffleboard film, about her daughter's competitiveness. So yes, I believe she was impacted. This coming year, I think we will have a screening at a larger facility.

Are there other ways in which Barefoot was able to give back to your community?

Tom: I suppose Barefoot could donate their films to the local library because they have nightly film screenings. Many visiting filmmakers donate their films there, and so I think this could be one way that Barefoot could give back to the community.

What is the mission of Marfa Public Radio? Is there any overlap with Marfa Public Radio's mission and Barefoot's goals as it pertains to the power of storytelling?

Tom: Sure, we are both involved in community storytelling. There really is no alternative if you don't have community media. We are the only real-time, regional media in the area. We don't have a local TV station, so it is really important that we are community focused. We hope to win this CPB-funded grant called Localore, in order to bring independent audio producers to our community to tell local stories, and they take ten months to do it. We just advanced to the final round in the grant process.

How do you think the people of Marfa feel about Barefoot coming back to capture more stories from their community?

Tom: Two friends of mine are writing a Vanity Fair piece on Marfa. It is interesting to get people's perspective on that. It's funny, the town feels written about a little bit, and so I like the fact that Barefoot will come and spend time to tell a story. To a lot of people, two weeks is not enough time to tell a real story. I know they [the students] attempt to coalesce their stories around certain events, which are finite and so there is the story and the backstory. For the next group of students, I'll try to tell them about some interesting people in the community, and encourage them to go behind the headlines. Unlike some small, rural communities in Texas, this area tends to be open-minded to outsiders. The better stories you have to dig for, but when you meet a stranger they sometimes tell you more of a detailed story than they would tell their longtime friend. I don't know why that is.

I think Marfa is open to documentary filmmakers - and as we find at the radio station, some people are very open to telling their stories. As anywhere, there are some gaps to bridge, whether it's old-timer & newcomer, Anglo & Hispanic, or rancher & townie.

Has your understanding or appreciation of storytelling changed after watching two Barefoot documentaries? How does it relate personally to your life?

Tom: It is part of my job to do audio stories/documentaries, so it is always interesting to me to see how others approach their craft. I thought they really did a good job with the subject matter and the storytelling itself. I am always a little jealous of how much more you can do with visuals. You have to spend more time on exposition in radio. But in film, you can do a lot simply with a certain look or reaction. Sound is important; it is really difficult to record outdoors, especially out here where it can be windy and rough. It can be tough for an audio storyteller or a visual storyteller.

Would you like Marfa Public Radio to collaborate with the Barefoot Workshops in anyway? How could this be beneficial?

Tom: I think Marfa Public Radio should team up with Barefoot Workshops. For one, we should sponsor their final screening at the Crowley Theater because of our access to the venue and our ability to fill seats in an audience. And, we can discuss other collaborative ideas, too.

What would be your advice to new Barefoot students who are arriving to your town? Is there anything they should know in advance about the people of Marfa?

Tom: The whole area, especially for a city dweller, is exciting because of the big sky and big open country. The town is also considered to be quaint. I would tell them to not just go for the easy story. There are also some racial barriers with many of the filmmakers being Anglo and the majority of the population here being Hispanic. It would be great to get more of those cross-cultural stories.

How can Barefoot reach a broader audience with their films?

Tom: If we collaborate with Barefoot, and even if it's just as a media partner, we could share the documentaries on our platforms, such as the radio, our website, and in social media.

What are some other local issues in Marfa that could be captured in future Barefoot films? Why are these important stories to tell?

Tom: Immigration, border patrol, the changing nature of ranching, the politics over water rights (which is a big issue in the West), the shooting wild burros in the state park, the horses being delivered to slaughter in Mexico that pass through here, and there is always the drug trade, issues over education, the cost of housing, and divides between Hispanic and non-Hispanic culture. These are the bigger stories and sometimes not so easy to tell. There are lots of interesting people here. There are the artisans, craftspeople and the people who volunteer for so many local projects.

What do you think is the biggest misperception about Marfa (with it being such a big attraction for contemporary artists and patrons of the arts from major cities such as New York)?

Tom: I think the biggest misperception about Marfa is wealth. We are one of the poorest counties in the US. The bulk of the "full-timers" who live here - think of the artists, craftspeople, 20somethings - they are not "trust-funders" but scrappy entrepreneurial types who know how to get by. They enjoy the lifestyle, they are not strivers and they are not wealthy. Every "newcomer" here had more money and made more money when they lived in a city. The people who come out here reframe their lifestyle to suit this. Someone online asked about relocating here, and a resident responded by saying, "What you do first is you come out here, so you can see what is needed. Then you accept a salary that is one-quarter of what you're worth, but you're happy with it. One of the misperceptions is that everyone is loaded, and just the opposite is true.

Do you think you will ever take a Barefoot Workshop?

Tom: I'd love to take a Barefoot Workshop and in fact, I'm going to teach myself some video in the coming months for a project - but I presently don't have the time & money to take the workshop. I think - were I to overcome those obstacles - it would be a productive use of my time to learn from Chandler, Alison, and the crew.