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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Top Stories
8:16 pm
Wed April 11, 2012

Zimmerman Arrested On Murder Charge In Martin Case; Will Plead Not Guilty

Originally published on Wed April 11, 2012 9:13 pm

George Zimmerman, who says he killed unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin in self-defense, has been arrested and will face a charge of second-degree murder, says State Attorney Angela Corey, the special prosecutor investigating Martin's death.

Corey said that Zimmerman turned himself in to the authorities Wednesday.

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All Tech Considered
6:36 am
Wed November 16, 2011

Steve Jobs Dishes On The Tech Business In 'Lost Interview' From 1995

Credit
"We got the number of the Vatican and called the pope," Steve Jobs says of the first project he worked on with Steve Wozniak. Later, the two founded Apple Computer.
The Two-Way
5:24 pm
Thu November 10, 2011

Facebook Will Reportedly Shift Privacy Policy To 'Opt In' — Not 'Opt Out'

Credit Darren McCollester / Getty Images
Facebook is on the verge of adopting new "opt in" privacy settings, according to reports. Here, company founder Mark Zuckerberg speaks during a visit to Cambridge, Mass., Monday.

Facebook moving toward changing its policy about privacy settings, abandoning an "opt-out" approach for one in which its members would have to "opt in" to allow strangers to see personal information stored on their profile pages, according to reports.

The shift is seen as a response to the Federal Trade Commission's accusation that the social media network deceived its members when it changed its policies in 2009.

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The Two-Way
4:29 pm
Thu November 10, 2011

U.S. Puts Oil Pipeline Plan In Limbo Until After 2012 Vote

Originally published on Thu November 10, 2011 7:15 pm

A final decision on building a new oil pipeline to connect Alberta, Canada, to U.S. refineries near the Gulf of Mexico will not be made until after the 2012 presidential election, the State Department said Thursday.

TransCanada's proposal to build the Keystone XL pipeline had come under pressure from environmentalists, as well as government officials in Nebraska. It would cost an estimated $7 billion to build.

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The Two-Way
3:58 pm
Thu November 10, 2011

As Paterno Exits, Rumors Name Urban Meyer As Penn State Successor

Credit Al Messerschmidt / Getty Images
With Penn State coach Joe Paterno ousted, rumors are speculating that former Florida coach Urban Meyer will be his replacement. In January, the two shook hands before the Outback Bowl.

Could former Florida football coach Urban Meyer be the next head coach at Penn State?

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Sports
5:06 pm
Tue November 8, 2011

Penn State Abuse Scandal: A Guide And Timeline

Originally published on Sat June 23, 2012 12:14 pm

Former Penn State defensive coordinator Gerald "Jerry" Sandusky was found guilty of sexual abuse, convicted of 45 out of 48 counts on Friday, June 22. He was accused of sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year period in a scandal that has rocked the university's community. Several alleged victims have testified in the trial, which began on June 11.

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The Two-Way
7:14 am
Thu November 3, 2011

Along With Humans, Who Else Is In The 7 Billion Club?

The revelation this week that the Earth now holds 7 billion people, according to the U.N.'s population division, prompted a question: Who else is in the 7 Billion Club? To find out which other animals had reached that plateau, we asked wildlife experts — and they patiently explained why our innocent question was nearly impossible to answer.

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All Tech Considered
5:19 am
Fri October 28, 2011

Mobile Payment Apps Put Wallets In Phones, Not Pockets

Credit Google

A screengrab shows the Google Wallet app being used to pay for items at a CVS store.

Originally published on Fri October 28, 2011 8:48 am

The use of smartphones as e-wallets has caught on elsewhere; now it's spreading in America.

The new Google Wallet app lets shoppers who own Android smartphones pay at the counter with a mere wave at the cash register and without a pocketful of change in return.

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The Salt
5:37 pm
Wed October 26, 2011

Customer Outrage Forces Necco To Put Artificial Ingredients Back Into Wafers

When the people who make Necco Wafers changed their recipe to use natural flavors and colors in 2009, they thought they were doing their customers a favor. But then those customers told the New England Confectionery Company — loudly, and repeatedly — that they preferred artificially enhanced candy.

"Our normal mail volume probably went up twenty-fold" after the change, says Necco Vice President of Research and Quality Jeff Green says. "Some positive, and some negative. But a lot of negative."

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The Two-Way
2:46 pm
Fri October 21, 2011

Undestroyed Earth Defies Oakland Ministry (Again)

The Oakland minister who predicted the end of the world would take place on Friday, Oct. 21, was confronted by the continuation of the world instead. It marks the second time this year that the ministry led by Harold Camping, 90, has settled on a doomsday date, only to have it tick by in quotidian fashion.

But to be fair, Camping has said that "the end is going to come very, very quietly," as Mark reported last week.

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