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Robyn Semien

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Robyn Semien
Semien in 2014
Alma materUniversity of California, Los Angeles
OccupationProducer
Known forThis American Life
Notable work"Harper High School", "Help Wanted"
AwardsPeabody Award

Robyn Semienis a television and radio producer who has worked onThis American Lifein radio, television and video formats.

Early life

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Semien attended theUniversity of California, Los Angeles.

Career

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Film and television

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Semien worked as an editor and producer of film and television, including as an associate editor on the first season ofThis American Life's television documentary serieswithShowtime,and then as a producer on the second season in 2008. Semien was also a producer on the 2012 video project,This American Life: One Night Only atBAM.

Radio

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Semien joinedThis American Life's radio team in 2007. She's drawn notice for reporting and producing on a wide array of topics, from card-counting in blackjack[1]and her father's car (for the latter, she was the listener-voted favorite inThis American Life's 400th-episode competition among the show's producers to see who could develop the best radio story based on an idea pitched by the producer's parents)[2]to race and policing[3](named toThe Atlantic's round-up of "exceptional works of journalism" from 2015),[4]treatment for young, non-offending pedophiles,[5]and school inequality and violence. With Julie Snyder andIra Glass,Semien co-produced the acclaimed 2013 "Harper High School" two-part episode ofThis American Lifeabout a Chicago high school where 29 students had been shot in the previous year.[6]The episode made "best of" lists atSlate,[7]The Atlantic,[8]Newsweek,[9]andProPublica,[10]among others. Shortly after the episode aired, First LadyMichelle Obamavisited the school, and she andPresident Barack Obamainvited Harper High students to the White House.[11]

Awards

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Semien and collaborators on the "Harper High School" episode won aPeabody Award,with judges calling the work "vivid, unblinking, poignant and sometimes gut-wrenching”;[12]the Dart Center prize for journalism and trauma ( “profoundly moving” and “extraordinarily comprehensive and compassionate" ); the Jack R. Howard Award for Radio In-Depth coverage;[13]anAlfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award[14]( "truly immersive, and intercut with lively use of sound[; t]hese elements offered valuable insights" );[15]the Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting from the Education Writers Association;[16]and theThird Coast International Audio Festival's Gold Award for best documentary.[17]

In 2014, Semien, Luke Malone and Ira Glass won Third Coast International Audio Festival's Radio Impact Award[18]for their story about "on the struggles of young, non-offending pedophiles in their teens and early 20s and what they were doing to get treatment."[19]Semien produced, Malone reported and Glass edited. For the same piece, Semien, Malone and Glass were also finalists forThe Society of Professional Journalists' Deadline Club 2015 award for best "Radio or Audio Reporting" and third place in theNational Headliners Awardfor best "Radio stations documentary or public affairs."[20]

In 2008, Semien was nominated as producer, withThis American Life's television team, for theInternational Documentary Association's award for best continuing series.[21]

Personal life

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Semien is married to Damien Graef,[22]and in April 2013, together the two opened a wine store inWilliamsburg, Brooklyn,called Bibber & Bell Wine and Spirits.[23]In 2016,Brooklyn Magazinenamed Bibber & Bell to its list of the borough's best wine shops.[24]

References

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  1. ^Sturges, Fiona (10 July 2013)."The Week in Radio: It's worth taking a gamble on This American Life".The Independent (UK).Retrieved22 August2016.
  2. ^Vary, Adam B. (July 11, 2013)."How" This American Life "Made It To Episode 500".Buzzfeed.Retrieved22 August2016.
  3. ^Singer, Alan (30 March 2015)."Teaching About Policing and Race in America".The Huffington Post.Retrieved22 August2016.
  4. ^Friedersdorf, Conor (August 11, 2016)."Slightly More Than 100 Exceptional Works of Journalism".The Atlantic.Retrieved22 August2016.
  5. ^"Stories We Loved: Some Favorite Narrative from 2014".Neiman Storyboard.Harvard University.Retrieved26 August2016.
  6. ^Whitaker, Morgan (March 1, 2013)."This American Tragedy: Gun violence at Harper High School".MSNBC.Retrieved22 August2016.
  7. ^Haglund, David (11 July 2013)."Where Do I Start With This American Life?".Slate.Retrieved22 August2016.
  8. ^Friedersdorf, Conor (October 29, 2014)."Podcasts So Good You Want to Binge-Listen".The Atlantic.Retrieved22 August2016.
  9. ^Bindrim, Kira (18 December 2014)."5 Things to Fill the Serial-Sized Hole in Your Life".Newsweek.Retrieved22 August2016.
  10. ^Beckett, Lois (19 September 2014)."The Best Reporting on PTSD in Children Exposed to Violence".ProPublica.Retrieved22 August2016.
  11. ^Lutton, Linda (June 7, 2013)."Harper High School kids meet the president: 'My whole body just got weak'".WBEZ.Retrieved22 August2016.
  12. ^"Harper High School (WBEZ Chicago 91.5)".Peabody Awards. 2013.RetrievedAugust 26,2016.
  13. ^Angelotti, Ellyn (22 December 2014)."Secrets of Prize-Winning Journalism: This American Life's Harper High School".Poynter.Retrieved22 August2016.
  14. ^Zhang, Christian (19 December 2013)."Journalism School announces 2014 duPont-Columbia Award winners".Columbia Daily Spectator.Retrieved22 August2016.
  15. ^""This American Life:" Harper High School Parts 1 and 2 ", WBEZ Chicago | 2014 duPont-Columbia Awards Winner".Vimeo.Columbia University Alfred I. duPont Awards.Retrieved22 August2016.
  16. ^"The Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize - Education Writers Association".www.ewa.org.Education Writers Association.Retrieved13 September2016.
  17. ^Miner, Michael (October 21, 2013)."It took two: WBEZ's education reporters receive national honors".Chicago Reader.Retrieved22 August2016.
  18. ^"Help Wanted".thirdcoastfestival.org.Third Coast International Audio Festival.Retrieved26 August2016.
  19. ^Alim, Teta (November 9, 2014)."Radio Diaries takes gold at Third Coast, and other awards in public media".Current.Retrieved26 August2016.
  20. ^"81st National Headliner Awards winners"(PDF).www.headlinerawards.org.Retrieved26 August2016.
  21. ^"IDA's 2008 IDA Documentary Awards Competition Nominees Announced".Documentary.org.International Documentary Association. 28 October 2008.Retrieved27 August2016.
  22. ^Teague, Lettie (9 May 2014)."The Ups and Downs of Owning a Wine Store".Wall Street Journal.Retrieved22 August2016.
  23. ^Teague, Lettie (3 May 2013)."Williamsburg Wine Store Stakes Out a Brooklyn Claim".Wall Street Journal.Retrieved22 August2016.
  24. ^Signer, Rachel (16 May 2016)."Get Thirsty: Here Are Brooklyn's Best Wine Shops".Brooklyn Magazine.Retrieved22 August2016.
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