The Media Lab is conveniently situated between the 3rd floor elevator bank and the WNPR studios. While mixing audio or rummaging through drawers for USB cables, our interns would often cast a curious glance hallway-ward when the guests for "The Colin McEnroe Show" would walk by. Though the cast of characters would change - one day a troupe of musicians, the next a posse of politicians - invariably escorting them, crowned by blonde dreadlocks, tattooed arms raised in welcome, and a witty remark in that unmistakable radio cadence, was the illustrious and mysterious Chion Wolf.
As the voice of midday continuity breaks, the number of folks who have heard Chion is disproportionately larger than those who have seen her. Our purpose with this (I)NTERVIEW was to correct such an imbalance. Beyond pairing a face with a name, we hope to provide a story for a person and in the case of Chion, the stories were abundantly supplied and endearingly told. Perhaps it is because her story reminds us so much our own: NPR fans who listened until the listening wasn’t enough and had to get involved. In a matter of four years, Chion has involved herself to the fullest and through a determination to dream big, become one of the most recognizable and refreshing voices on Connectict public radio.
Chion Wolf was born Marie Julia Gladis in Hartford, Connecticut. A self-acknowledged class clown and presidential impersonator, Chion was raised in Farmington and legally changed her name after graduating from high school (we won’t ruin the story with a spoiler, you’ll have to watch our video). She began as a rabid WNPR listener, until one day heeding Bill Henry’s call for volunteers to answer phones for the upcoming fund drive. After meeting News Director John Dankosky, Chion started an internship in January of 2007 and began to hone her production skills working with the local morning show, “Where We Live.”
Chion began photographing the guests and pairing herself with staff journalists to document their stories. With the help of Dankosky, she set up the official WNPR Flickr picture site. Now, every member of the reporting staff could contribute to the visual aspect of radio journalism and Chion’s own passion for the medium grew. She upgraded from a point-and-shoot to two Canon EOS 5D Mark II cameras and never looked back.
In 2009, Colin McEnroe hand-picked Chion to join him and producer extraordinaire Patrick Skahill to complete the trifecta that has become “The Colin McEnroe Show.” These days, Chion voices breaks for the station between 10:19am and 2:40pm every week day, announces, chooses music and writes songs & essays for the Colin McEnroe Show, helps manage their website, uploads hand-picked music to the station's music bed and brings her photojournalism skills to events and stories generated by WNPR. She recently earned her staff wings as a producer for "The Colin McEnroe Show" and has her eye on more voice work in the future.
For more of Chion’s photography, check out:
Chion’s Website: http://www.chionwolf.com/
WNPR Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wnprimages/
For those who made it to the credits, there’s more Gaelic where that came from.
Chion’s Songs: http://www.yourpublicmedia.org/content/wnpr/wolfies-songs
