Bill Chappell

Bill Chappell is a blogger and producer who works with NPR's Morning Edition and Digital Media group. In addition to coordinating Web features, he frequently contributes to NPR's blogs, from The Two Way and All Tech Considered to The Salt.

Chappell's work at NPR has ranged from being the site's first full-time homepage editor to leading the London 2012 Olympics blog, The Torch. His assignments have included being the lead web producer for NPR's trip to Asia's Grand Trunk Road, as well as establishing the Peabody Award-winning StoryCorps on NPR.org.

In 2009, Chappell was a key editorial member of the small team that redesigned NPR's web site. One year later, the site won its first Peabody Award, along with the National Press Foundation's Excellence in Online Journalism award.

At NPR, Chappell trains both digital and radio staff to use digital tools to tell compelling stories, in addition to "evangelizing" — promoting more collaboration between departments. Other shows he has worked with include All Things Considered, Fresh Air, and Talk of the Nation.

Prior to joining NPR in late 2003, Chappell worked on the Assignment Desk at CNN International, handling coverage in areas from the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America, and coordinating CNN's pool coverage out of Qatar.

Chappell's work for CNN also included producing Web stories and editing digital video for SI.com, as well as editing and producing stories for CNN.com's features division. He also worked at the network's video and research library.

Before joining CNN, Chappell wrote about movies, restaurants and music for alternative weeklies, in addition to his first job: editing the police blotter.

From 2002-2003, Chappell served as editor-in-chief of The Trans-Atlantic Journal, a business and lifestyle monthly geared for expatriate Europeans working and living in the United States.

A holder of bachelor's degrees in English and History from the University of Georgia, he attended graduate school for English Literature at the University of South Carolina.

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3:41pm

Sat August 4, 2012
The Torch

Swimming: U.S. Women Set A World Record As They Take Gold

Originally published on Sat August 4, 2012 4:30 pm

Credit Clive Rose / Getty Images

Swimming in London's Aquatic Center, the U.S. women's 4x100m medley relay team set a new world record in winning a gold medal, with Allison Schmitt swimming freestyle to anchor a relay that finished two seconds ahead of the competition, at 3:52.05.

All four members of the women's relay team had previously won gold in their events: Dana Vollmer (butterfly), Missy Franklin (backstroke), Rebecca Soni (breaststroke), and Schmitt.

The victory gave Franklin, 17, four gold medals and one bronze in the London 2012 Games.

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3:21pm

Sat August 4, 2012
The Torch

Williams Sisters Advance To Gold Medal Game In London

It's been a big day for Serena Williams. First, she started the day by winning her first individual Olympic gold medal. Then she earned a chance for another gold in the women's doubles match, playing with her sister, Venus. The pair defeated the Russian team of Nadia Petrova and Maria Kirilenko, 7-5, 6-4.

The Americans will next face the Czech team of Hlavackova and Kradecka in the Olympic final, Sunday at 7 a.m. ET.

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2:17pm

Sat August 4, 2012
The Torch

U.S. Women Win Silver In First Team Pursuit Event

Credit Cameron Spencer / Getty Images

The U.S. team won the silver medal in the inaugural women's team pursuit event of the Summer Olympics, finishing behind Great Britain in the final.

The British team set a new world record of 3:14.051 as they claimed the gold medal. The Americans finished 5 seconds behind them. Canada won the bronze-medal matchup, beating Australia in London's velodrome.

The American team of Sarah Hammer, Dotsie Bausch, and Lauren Tamayo averaged a speed of 54.073 Km/h, or 33.5 mph, on the track.

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1:18pm

Sat August 4, 2012
The Torch

Bryan Brothers Win Doubles Gold At London Olympics

Credit Luis Acosta / AFP/Getty Images

The U.S. men's doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan won their first Olympic gold medal Saturday, beating France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Michael Llodra, 6-1, 7-6 (6-2), in a game that was far more entertaining than its score might suggest. Both teams played creative and focused tennis, sustaining fast-paced volleys and inventing shots that delighted the crowd at Centre Court.

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10:48am

Sat August 4, 2012
The Torch

Serena Williams Wins Olympic Gold, Beating Sharapova 6-1, 6-0

Originally published on Sat August 4, 2012 12:21 pm

Credit Luis Acosta / AFP/Getty Images

American Serena Williams stormed her way to an Olympic gold medal Saturday, dominating the final against Maria Sharapova of Russia. It is the first individual gold medal for Williams, who has twice won in Olympic doubles.

Williams won the first set, 6-0, in only 30 minutes. She hit only a handful of unforced errors in each set, and feasted on Sharapova's second serve. She won the second set by 6-1, with the entire match taking only a bit more than an hour to complete.

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10:00am

Sat August 4, 2012
The Torch

Let's Catch Up: U.S. Gold In Rifle Event; And A Badminton Bronze

Credit Marwan Naamani / AFP/Getty Images

Good morning. As we start Day 8 of the London Olympics, big news is already happening. We posted earlier about Oscar Pistorius's historic run in the men's 400 meters, for instance. If you'd like to catch up on yesterday's events, check out our Day in Photos gallery. Here's what's been happening today:

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5:49pm

Fri August 3, 2012
The Torch

Saudi Arabia's First Female Olympian Makes History In Judo Match

Credit Quinn Rooney / Getty Images

It's nearly time to set The Torch to "dim" for the night, but we must note something historic that happened today: Wojdan Shaherkani competed for Saudi Arabia in the Olympics, becoming the first woman ever to do so.

Shaherkani wasn't a threat to win her match against Puerto Rico's Melissa Mojica. After all, Shaherkani is only 16, and her highest level of achievement in judo is a blue belt. Their match only lasted 1 minute and 22 seconds.

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4:42pm

Fri August 3, 2012
The Torch

Track Cyclist's Admitting To Intentional Crash Won't Bring Investigation

Credit Bryn Lennon / Getty Images

If one thing is clear at these London Games, it's that not doing one's best is not only uncool — it's not allowed. Witness the badminton-to-worstminton scandal that erupted earlier this week, when players turned the tournament structure into a "farce" by attempting to lose in order to manipulate their seeds in the next round.

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3:08pm

Fri August 3, 2012
The Torch

Phelps And Franklin Add To Their Medal Totals, And A New Teen Phenom Emerges

Originally published on Fri August 3, 2012 5:08 pm

In one of the last showcase days for swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics, American athletes Michael Phelps and Missy Franklin hit the pool at London's aquatic center Friday. Each of them were on a mission to end their individual event schedules with gold medals.

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11:54am

Fri August 3, 2012
The Torch

Federer Wins Epic Semifinal, Taking More Than Four Hours To Do So

Originally published on Fri August 3, 2012 12:25 pm

Credit Clive Brunskill / Getty Images

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer kept his Olympic dream alive Friday, when he won the longest tennis singles match in Olympic history. He defeated Juan Del Potro of Argentina, in a semifinal played on Wimbledon's Centre Court.

The final score of the three-set match, which lasted more than four hours and 20 minutes, was 3-6, 7-6, 19-17. Federer will next face the winner of Friday's semifinal between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic in the final.

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9:30am

Fri August 3, 2012
The Torch

Let's Catch Up: IOC Targets Rogue WiFi; A Rower In A Row; And A Rifle Record

Originally published on Fri August 3, 2012 9:39 am

Credit Marwan Naamani / AFP/Getty Images

It's Day 7 of competition at the London Olympics, and America has found a new contestant in its continual quest for a sweetheart: Gabby Douglas, the only gymnast who already has two gold medals before individual rounds begin. And still, it seems, some folks prefer to talk about Douglas' hair.

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9:17am

Fri August 3, 2012
The Torch

Coming Up Today: Track And Field Begins; More Swimming Finals

The big news on Day 7 of competition in the 2012 Summer Olympics is that Track and Field events — or, "Athletics," if you're an Olympic scheduler — finally get on the track and field.

Here's a look at Olympic highlights for Friday, and events we'll keep an eye on. All times are EDT:

Swimming

  • 2:30p Women's 200m Backstroke Final
  • 2:38p Men's 100m Butterfly Final
  • 2:45p Women's 800m Freestyle Final
  • 3:09p Men's 50m Freestyle Final

Track and Field

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4:12pm

Thu August 2, 2012
The Torch

Michael Phelps Wins Record 20th Medal, In 200m IM; Soni Sets Record In Breaststroke

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 5:51 pm

Breaking News Update at 3:27 p.m. ET: Phelps Wins Gold For 20th Medal.

Michael Phelps has won the men's 200-meter individual medley at the 2012 Summer Games, winning his 20th Olympic medal — and his first individual gold medal in London.

Phelps led Lochte by .16 of one second at the first turn, in the butterfly. He maintained his lead in the backstroke — the discipline Lochte had just raced in half an hour earlier in the day.

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2:01pm

Thu August 2, 2012
The Torch

U.S. Gymnast Douglas Wins Individual Gold In All-Around

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 11:55 pm

American gymnast Gabby Douglas has won her second Olympic gold medal of the London Summer Games, winning the individual all-around event to match her performance anchoring the U.S. team's first-place performance earlier this week.

Douglas scored 15.500 or higher in her first three rotations, with an emphatic 15.966 on her vault. Her final score was 62.232.

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12:39pm

Thu August 2, 2012
The Torch

Wiggin' Out: Bradley Wiggins Drinks To His Gold Medal, And The Mods Applaud

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 6:54 pm

Credit Alex Livesey / Getty Images

Fresh off becoming Britain's most-decorated Olympian, cyclist Bradley Wiggins is back in the news, as he updated his Twitter followers Wednesday night with details of how his celebration was going.

"Well what a day, blind drunk at the minute and overwhelmed with all the messages," Wiggins tweeted to his more than 400,000 followers. "Thank You everyone it's been emotional X."

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11:50am

Thu August 2, 2012
The Torch

Kayla Harrison Completes Her Comeback With Historic Gold Medal In Judo

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 6:39 pm

Credit Franck Fife / AFP/Getty Images

Kayla Harrison has defeated Britain's Gemma Gibbons in the women's 78kg judo final. It is the first gold medal for Harrison, 22, a native of Middletown, Ohio — and the first Olympic gold medal for an American in the event.

Harrison sprang out to an early lead in the match and then sealed it with another late score. She holds multiple world champion titles, despite her young age.

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9:02am

Thu August 2, 2012
The Torch

Let's Catch Up: U.S. Women Rowers Prevail, And NBC's Water Polo Coverage

Credit Eric Feferberg / AFP/Getty Images

Good morning. Here's a rundown of the news that's catching our eye this morning, from the London Olympics:

-- The women's eight rowing competition was won by the U.S. team, in an encore of their gold-medal performance in Beijing 2008. The team, which led from the start and stayed ahead of silver medalists Canada at the end, consists of Mary Whipple (coxswain), Caryn Davies, Caroline Lind, Eleanor Logan, Meghan Musnicki, Taylor Ritzel, Esther Lofgren, Susan Francia and Erin Cafaro.

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4:39pm

Wed August 1, 2012
The Torch

U.S. Marine Boxer: 'I'm Proud Of How Far I've Come,' Despite Olympics Loss

Credit Jack Guez / AFP/Getty Images

U.S. Olympic boxing team captain Jamel Herring lost his light welterweight bout yesterday, but it's not the first setback he's faced — and he says he won't let his team lose its momentum in the London Olympics because of his defeat.

As the AP reports:

"After surviving two tours in Iraq and returning to boxing after the sudden death of his infant daughter in her crib three years ago, Herring knows a bit about composure and focus."

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4:05pm

Wed August 1, 2012
The Torch

Nathan Adrian Takes Gold In 100m Freestyle, Defeating France's Agnel

Credit Gabriel Bouys / AFP/Getty Images

American swimmer Nathan Adrian's name hasn't been on everyone's mind, the way that Michael Phelps' or Ryan Lochte's has. But he did something that even Lochte couldn't do this week: beat Yannick Agnel in a head-to-head race.

Adrian's time of 47.52 seconds in the men's 100-meter freestyle gave him his first individual gold medal, as he also beat James Magnussen of Australia, who came in second, and Brent Hayden of Canada.

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3:07pm

Wed August 1, 2012
The Torch

U.S. Gymnast Danell Leyva Wins Bronze In All-Around

Credit Harry How / Getty Images

U.S. gymnast Danell Leyva has won the bronze medal in the men's all-around competition in London. The gold was taken by Japanese star Kohei Uchimura, while the silver medal went to Marcel Nguyen of Germany.

With a final score of 92.690, Uchimura was nearly 2 points ahead of Leyva, at 90.698. And with his win, Uchimura vanquished the disappointments of his 2008 Beijing, when his struggles on the pommel horse cost him a gold medal.

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