In his latest episode of Gangrey: The Podcast, assistant professor of English Matt Tullis, MFA, interviews alumnus and award-winning journalist Chip Scanlan ’71.
For the 102nd episode of Gangrey: The Podcast, Narrative Journalism and the Reporters Who Write It, assistant professor of English Matt Tullis, MFA, who is also the director of the Digital Journalism program in the College of Arts and Sciences at Fairfield, interviewed an award-winning former journalist who has authored or edited a dozen books, Chip Scanlan ’71.
“First off, I wanted to interview Chip before I actually knew he was a Fairfield alumnus (something I learned when we started talking about doing the show),” Tullis explained. “I’ve known of his work since I was a reporter in Ohio back in early 2000 because of his reputation as an exceptional writing coach at the Poynter Institute.”
This December, Scanlon’s book Writers on Writing: Inside the Lives of 55 Distinguished Writers and Editors was published, and as Tullis read it, he said he saw “it was full of amazing insights into the writing life.”
Each writer or editor included in the book was asked the same four questions.
“The book is full of those answers,” Tullis said. “All of the insight in the book, and what it took Chip to pull the book off, made Chip a perfect person to talk to for my podcast. Additionally, this book is one I will most definitely use in my “Literary Journalism” and “Writing the Feature Story” courses.”
Included in the book are Susan Orlean, Dan Barry, Jan Winburn, David Finkel, Roy Peter Clark, and so many more. The book also includes ten writers who have been featured on Tullis’ podcast: Lane DeGregory, John Branch, Kim Cross, Glenn Stout, Kelley Benham French, John Woodrow Cox, Ben Montgomery, Brendan O’Meara, Bronwen Dickey, as well as Tullis himself.
Tullis said that Gangrey: The Podcast is dedicated to discussing the best in narrative journalism with the reporters who write it. The goal is to understand how this work comes about, including the reporting and the writing process.
Matt Tullis
“I am now in my 10th year of doing Gangrey,” Tullis said, (first episode went live on December 12, 2012). “I’ve done 102 episodes where I’ve interviewed the best narrative journalists in the world. In the shows, we talk shop, about how they report and write their great pieces of narrative journalism. Having those conversations over the last 10 years has markedly made me a better professor.”
“I’ve learned so much, and am so eager to share that with students,” Tullis continued. “Beyond that, the podcast has helped me build relationships with so many great journalists who then are excited to talk to my classes. Several of my guests have even talked one-on-one with our journalism and sports media students, giving career advice and other lessons.”
Students have a role in Tullis’ work as well. Each year, students in his “The Power of Podcasting” class record promos for the show that actually run on-air.
Episodes of Gangrey: The Podcast are recorded and produced in Donnarumma Studios on Fairfield University’s campus.
