Third Coast on the Radio

By Justin Sondak in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 21, 2007 4:30PM

Lonely phone calls, dying and dead relatives, a literary classic, and a reexamination of the Middle Eastern conflict took the prizes at the 2007 Third Coast International Audio Festival competition. The jury turned much of their lives over to their headphones, listening to 225 entries in search of the best English-language radio docs. Winners received a trophy/sonic instrument, a national platform for their work, and some cash to help support their future work.

The radio documentarians who created the eight award-winning pieces came from all over the globe, though Chicago was well represented, as Katie Mingle, a local radio teacher, took the Best New Artist Award for “The Dead Can’t Do You Nothin’,” a look at life and death in a New Orleans graveyard.

Inspired by the cool kids at documentary film festivals, Chicago Public Radio founded the Third Coast competition to reward outstanding audio work. This year’s winning entries will air on the Third Coast Festival Broadcast Thursday from 9-11 a.m. on WBEZ.