StoryCorps is an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening. It is a project of Sound Portraits Productions in partnership with the Library of Congress, NPR, and public radio stations nationwide.

Press contact:

Marisa Karplus
646-723-7020 ext. 75
mkarplus@storycorps.net

Press resources:

• National Day of Listening see Press Release
• StoryCorps in the news
• Griot Initiative in the news
• Memory Loss Initiative in the news
• Listening Is an Act of Love, The Penguin Press; November 2007
• Press releases
• Hi-resolution photos for print and web
• Staff biographies
• Supporters and National Partners
  
• Audio introduction to StoryCorps
• Listen Closely, the weekly StoryCorps e-newsletter
• On the blogs
• The StoryCorps blog

Fast facts:

• The project is called StoryCorps (pronounced “story core”).

• Our mission is to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through
  listening. We accomplish this by recording high-quality interviews
  between friends or family, in which one person interviews the other. A
  trained Facilitator guides the interview, if necessary, and handles all
  the technical aspects of the recording.

• StoryCorps is launching the first National Day of Listening to encourage families to linger a little longer in the holiday spirit by interviewing a loved one on the day after Thanksgiving. In this time of economic hardship, recording a loved one is the least expensive and most meaningful gift you can give this holiday season.

• StoryCorps has traveled across the country on a Mobile Tour, visiting over 100 towns and cities in 48 states -  more than 20,000 interviews in all. It is the largest oral history project of its kind.  The Alaska Initiative began in October 2008 and will record over 500 stories of Alaskans in six months.

• StoryCorps has a StoryBooth in New York City in Lower Manhattan and one in San Francisco housed in the Contemporary Jewish Museum. Our two MobileBooths
  travel cross-country, collecting the stories of everyday Americans.

• Our first StoryBooth opened on October 23, 2003, in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal. That booth closed in May 2008. The new flagship is in Lower Manhattan’s Foley Square across from the U.S. Courthouse.

• Our first two traveling MobileBooths embarked on their cross-country journeys on May 19, 2005.

• StoryCorps operates several special initiatives, including the Griot Initiative, the Memory Loss Initiative, the September 11th Initiative, and the Alaska Initiative.

• With the permission of the participants, edited stories from each booth are broadcast on a partner public radio station. One story is broadcast nationally on NPR’s Morning Edition each week on Friday mornings.

• Interviews recorded are added to the StoryCorps Archive, housed at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

• StoryCorps participants receive a broadcast-quality copy of their interview on CD at the end of their session.

• The suggested donation for an hour-long StoryBooth session is $25 ensuring access to everyone. We fundraise throughout the year to help
  cover costs of recording, archiving, and preserving each interview and to continue our mission.