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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2:15pm

Sun April 14, 2013
The Two-Way

Beer Bust: Yankees Rename 'Craft Beer' Stand At Stadium

Originally published on Wed April 17, 2013 3:39 pm

Credit Amanda Rykoff

The baseball season is still young, but the New York Yankees have already faced harsh public criticism. No, we're not referring to their lackluster record. Instead, the Yanks were accused of trying to hoodwink beer drinkers with a new "Craft Beer Destination" concession stand at their Bronx stadium.

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1:06pm

Sun April 14, 2013
The Two-Way

Violence Hits Guantanamo Bay As Inmates Continue Hunger Strike

Credit Suzette Laboy / AP

Inmates fought guards at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after military authorities decided to end communal housing in one of the prison's camps, and instead put prisoners in individual cells. At least one detainee was reportedly injured by a rubber bullet in the clash Saturday.

The violence began after the facility's commander ordered the move Saturday morning. According to the U.S. Southern Command, the decision was made after detainees covered windows and surveillance cameras, limiting guards' ability to monitor them at all times.

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11:30am

Sun April 14, 2013
The Two-Way

Police Sergeant Says Trayvon Martin Shooting Targets Were A Training Aid

Credit YouTube

A police sergeant in Port Canaveral, Fla., has been fired after he brought targets bearing images resembling Trayvon Martin — a silhouetted figure in a hooded sweatshirt, holding a canned drink — to a police target practice session.

"Whether his act was hatred or stupidity, none is tolerable," Port Canaveral CEO John Walsh says of former officer Ron King, in a report by local station WFTV.

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10:32am

Sun April 14, 2013
The Two-Way

China Reports 13 Bird Flu Deaths; Cases Climb To 60

Originally published on Sun April 14, 2013 11:30 am

Credit AP

Health officials in China say they've confirmed 11 new bird flu diagnoses, bringing the number of H7N9 infections to 60, with cases spread across several provinces, the official Xinhua news agency reports. The virus, which first infected people in Shanghai and eastern China, has now sickened at least one person in Beijing, along with two others in the central province of Henan.

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4:16pm

Sat April 13, 2013
The Two-Way

Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad Resigns Post

Originally published on Sun April 14, 2013 8:54 am

Credit Hazem Bader / AFP/Getty Images

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has resigned, ending a power struggle with President Mahmoud Abbas that rose to new heights in recent months. Fayyad had reportedly tried to quit his job earlier this week; Abbas initially refused it, but he finally accepted the resignation Saturday.

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3:17pm

Sat April 13, 2013
The Two-Way

Jetliner Crashes Into Sea Near Runway In Bali; All Aboard Safe

Credit AP

More than 100 passengers survived a crash into the sea, after the Boeing 737 they were traveling on from West Java to Bali, Indonesia, missed the runway at Denpasar International Airport. The plane came to rest in shallow waters, simplifying rescue efforts. Photographs showed the Lion Air jet in the water, its fuselage broken just behind its wings.

The aircraft was carrying 101 passengers and seven crew members when it crashed; afterward, rescue workers used rubber boats to get people off the plane.

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12:59pm

Sat April 13, 2013
The Two-Way

In China, Kerry Seeks Help In Calming North Korea

Credit Paul J. Richards / AFP/Getty Images

Secretary of State John Kerry is asking China's government to help ease tensions on the Korean peninsula, where North Korea has issued threats of war as it tests its weapons systems. The top U.S. diplomat met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing just days before a North Korea-promised missile test.

"That meeting with the president ran over by quite a lot," NPR's Louisa Lim reports from Beijing. "And afterward, Kerry said it couldn't have been more constructive, and more forward-leaning."

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11:26am

Sat April 13, 2013
The Two-Way

Woods Given Two-Stroke Penalty At Masters, Avoiding Disqualification

Originally published on Sun April 14, 2013 7:19 am

Credit Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images

Tiger Woods has been given a two-stroke penalty at the Masters, a tournament he's won four times, after a review found that he performed an illegal drop on the 15th hole of his second round Friday. Woods faced a possible disqualification for the infraction.

The incident began when Woods' wedge shot was a bit too on-target — it hit the base of the pin, and shot off the green and into a water hazard.

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9:44am

Sat April 13, 2013
The Two-Way

Mother Of Slain Sandy Hook Student Sits In For Obama's Weekly Address

Originally published on Sat April 13, 2013 3:16 pm

Credit YouTube

In a rare departure from tradition, Saturday's weekly presidential address was delivered not by President Obama but instead by Francine Wheeler, whose son Ben, 6, died in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings last December.

Flanked by her husband, David, Wheeler called for Americans to urge the Senate to pass gun control legislation that it is scheduled to begin debating in the coming week.

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5:47pm

Tue April 9, 2013
Science + Technology

Bitcoin Surpasses $200 Mark, Continuing 'Epic' Rise

Credit Bitcoin Charts

Bitcoin, the digital currency that trades outside the control of central banks and international borders, reached new heights Tuesday, surpassing the $200 mark for the first time. That level comes just five days after bitcoin approached $150, a development that Mt.Gox, the largest exchange service for the currency, deemed to be "epic."

Bitcoin's rise has been sharp. It was only two months ago that exchange rates put a single bitcoin's value at around $20.

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12:02pm

Tue April 9, 2013
The Two-Way

Osteen Hoaxster Explains: Goal Wasn't To Defame Pastor

Originally published on Tue April 9, 2013 1:27 pm

Credit YouTube

The person behind the elaborate online hoax in which a fake website and Twitter feed falsely proclaimed Pastor Joel Osteen's intent to renounce Christianity and shut down his influential Houston ministry says that his goal wasn't to attack Osteen personally.

"I would like to state unequivocally my intent was not to defame Mr. Osteen," the person behind the hoax wrote in an email, adding that "he seems like an infectiously nice and genial character."

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7:14pm

Mon April 8, 2013
The Two-Way

Pastor Joel Osteen Is The Target Of A Complex Online Hoax

Originally published on Tue April 9, 2013 12:22 pm

April Fool's Day was one week ago — but an elaborate hoax targeting Pastor Joel Osteen gained wide attention Monday, after those behind the hoax used Twitter, YouTube, and other social media to spread spurious claims that the pastor had renounced his faith and would close his huge Texas church.

Update at 12:15 p.m. ET, Tuesday: Man Behind Hoax Describes Motives, Public Response

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6:27pm

Fri March 15, 2013
All Tech Considered

'Keep Google Reader Running' Petition Hits 100K; Fans Audition Replacements

Credit NPR

Google's announcement this week that it will kill its Reader product on July 1 prompted moans of despair from those who rely on the free RSS service to monitor headlines. To illustrate the level of dependency they've come to feel, some are comparing the move to Google abandoning search.

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2:59pm

Fri March 15, 2013
The Two-Way

Runway Scare: Driverless Van Crosses Path Of Passenger Jet At Toronto Airport

Credit Bruce Bennett / Getty Images

Canadian officials are investigating an incident in which a driverless van traveled across the runway at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, at the same time an Air Canada flight was landing late Monday night. After the plane's pilots reportedly ignored commands to pull up, the jet "narrowly missed" the van, investigators say.

From the CBC:

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12:43pm

Fri March 15, 2013
The Two-Way

NHL Realignment: New Divisions Drawn To Ease Time Zone Conflicts

The NHL will shuffle its teams before next season, moving from three divisions in each conference to a total of four divisions in the Eastern and Western Conferences. The league's owners approved the plan Thursday; the players' association gave its OK last week.

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7:14pm

Thu March 14, 2013
The Two-Way

New York City Hits A New Population Mark, Topping 8.3 Million

Credit Frank Franklin II / AP

New York City's population is at an all-time high, with an estimated 8,336,697 people living in the city, according to the most recent U.S. Census Data. "For the first time since before 1950, more people are coming to New York City than leaving," said Mayor Bloomberg, announcing the gains Thursday.

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5:08pm

Thu March 14, 2013
The Two-Way

Death Row Inmate Fights For Right To Die In Oregon

Credit Rick Bowmer / AP

Convicted murderer Gary Haugen has spent more than 30 years in prison; he's been on death row since 2007. And if he had his way, he would schedule his execution tomorrow. But in an unusual case, the Oregon Supreme Court must decide whether Haugen, who has waived his right to appeal, can die — or if Gov. John Kitzhaber's reprieve of Haugen should stand.

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12:23pm

Thu March 14, 2013
The Two-Way

Alabama's Governor Signs Education Bill Allowing School Choice

Credit Dave Martin / AP

Alabama's Gov. Robert Bentley has signed a sweeping education bill that gives tax credits to parents who want to transfer their children from a failing public school to another public or private school. The bill became law one day after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that a lawsuit against it was premature.

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4:45pm

Wed March 13, 2013
The Two-Way

Pope Francis: What Happens After A Papal Election

Originally published on Wed March 13, 2013 6:53 pm

Credit Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

As news spread that the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel was billowing white smoke to signal the election of Pope Francis, anticipation built for the new pontiff's first appearance on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

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1:09pm

Wed March 13, 2013
The Two-Way

The Ale That Men Brew: Iron Maiden Serves Up A Beer

Originally published on Wed March 13, 2013 4:12 pm

Credit Iron Maiden Beer

Three decades after giving the world The Number of the Beast, Iron Maiden is poised to release its latest work — and it's a beer. That's the latest from the Metal Injection website, whose "Bands and Booze" section makes it uniquely qualified to present such news.

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