Chapter 13 of Jonathan Kern’s Sound Reporting covers ethics in audio production, primarily as it concerns editing and shortening interviews. The overarching theme of the chapter? Though trimming is often a necessary tool when it comes to getting content on the air, it’s important not to contort the meaning of the original actuality.

1. The chapter notes that in the event an interview will have to be dramatically trimmed down, it’s best to consult the interview subject beforehand and inform him or her that most of what they will say will be edited out before air. In doing so, the interviewee will be better prepared for the final outcome, and won’t feel they were being misled or wasting time in the original interview. (pg. 234)
2. Though cutting or shortening questions and answers is an acceptable practice (indeed, the book references most Morning Edition and All Things Considered interviews that often need to be cut from twenty to thirty minutes all the way down to seven minutes or less), it’s important that an interviewee’s answers aren’t edited in a way that changes the meaning or tone of the original answer. (pgs. 234-239) NPR’s Morning Edition interview with TV critic Eric Deggans is a perfect example of the trimming audio point. There’s no chance his interview was all of three minutes long (and you can certainly hear times where his use of ‘So’ sounds slightly unnatural, something I’ve picked up from a few of audio editing), yet that is how long it was on-air. In the broadcast business, timing is everything, and trimming interviews into quick, informative Q&A’s is an absolute must.
3. One thing I found extremely interesting was the memo on rising inflections. While ending an actuality on a rising inflection can make the bite sound unnatural, I wasn’t aware producers might rearrange sentence order to avoid it. While it’s not exactly an unethical procedure, the editor needs to remain cognizant of the fact that a rearrangement might change the mood or meaning of the actuality. If it does, it’s often better to leave the answer as is, with the rising inflection at the end. (pgs. 239-240)
4. Indirectly, the entirety of the chapter suggests the onus is on the producer to report audio ethically. It’s so easy to can or simulate sound and insert it as ambience to create scenes in audio reports, but that’s obviously not ethical. Whether to add to the depth of a feature or the impact of a hard news story, creating audio to add to the report is something that should be avoided at all costs. (pgs. 242-244)
5. Similarly, the use of music in audio editing is a tricky proposition. While using music in a long-form feature enhances the listening experience, it shouldn’t be used improperly in a news story. If music is present in the background during an interview, it’s use as ambient sound would be encouraged. However, if it’s recorded later and inserted like it was present during the interview, that would be unethical. (pgs. 246)