Ashley Milne-Tyte

PR proliferates

March 31, 2011

Listen here. Aired on Marketplace.

PR used to be about sending out press releases and schmoozing journalists. But as the media industry shrinks, or evolves, depending on your point of view, PR is changing too. Press releases are almost a thing of the past. Social media is in. PR firms have to be much more active to get the message across in a society drowning in information. The irony here was that I got my information from none other than the spin doctors themselves.

Getting paid to look after a parent

March 18, 2011

Listen here. Aired on Marketplace Money.

Most people who take care of an older relative do it for free - either because they have to, or they want to, or both. It may sound odd to even consider the idea that an older person might pay someone they love to look after them. But a growing minority of family caregivers is paid to do the job. I talked to the Fowler family in Ogallala, Nebraska for this piece - a real treat. Their payment arrangement is informal. But lawyers and the AARP advise family members to sign a so-called personal care contract to avoid running into problems with eachother - and Medicaid - later on. A slightly different version of this story also aired on VOA News.

Audio slide show

March 6, 2011

I recently returned from a mind-expanding multimedia course run by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and Big Shed. Audio people learned some photography, and photography experts learned audio. Then we paired up and were sent out to collect audio and photos from, in my case, a yoga studio in downtown Durham. Next up - creating a short audio slide show. This is the result of my efforts (I took the photos - the sound was collected by Alix Blair and mixed by Jennifer Deer).

It was a fun, rewarding experiment. I'd love to do more.