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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The Two-Way
6:50 am
Mon May 6, 2013

Israel Reportedly Attacks Syrian Facility, In An Escalation

Credit AP
An image taken from video obtained from the Ugarit News, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows an airstrike hitting the area around Damascus, Syria, early Sunday.

Originally published on Sun May 12, 2013 8:25 am

Israeli warplanes attacked a military research center near Damascus early Sunday, according to intelligence reports and Syrian state media. The attack prompted Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al Mekdad to deem it a "declaration of war" by Israel, CNN reports.

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The Two-Way
4:37 pm
Sun April 28, 2013

Obama And O'Brien Take Jabs At Politics And Media (Highlights)

Credit CSPAN
President Obama joked at the White House Correspondents' Dinner that he had experimented with bangs to liven up his second term, stealing a fashion tip from the first lady, Michelle Obama.

Originally published on Sun April 28, 2013 2:38 pm

The Two-Way
8:57 pm
Sat April 27, 2013

Suspect In Ricin Letters Case Could Face Life In Prison (Updated)

Originally published on Mon April 29, 2013 6:13 am

Federal agents who are investigating poison-laced letters that were sent to President Obama and others have arrested Everett Dutschke, of Tupelo, Miss. The Daily Journal of Tupelo reports that the arrest occurred around 1 a.m. Saturday.

In addition to the president, letters containing the poison ricin were sent to Sen. Roger Wicker and a Mississippi state judge.

Update at 11:55 a.m. ET. Charges Filed, Court Date Set

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The Two-Way
6:32 am
Mon April 22, 2013

Midwest River Towns Ready Themselves For Cresting Floodwaters

Credit Jeff Roberson / AP
In Clarksville, Mo., Bob Bailey adjusts a pump as he tries to keep floodwater from the Mississippi River out of a rental property Sunday. The small community has worked for days to build a makeshift sandbag levee.

Originally published on Sun April 21, 2013 6:28 pm

Towns in Missouri, central Illinois and at least four other Midwestern states are under a flood warning, as heavy spring rains swell the Mississippi and other rivers to dangerously high crests. In some areas, rivers have already hit record flood levels.

In places where residents have been forced to evacuate their homes, the American Red Cross has set up shelters at schools and other facilities.

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The Two-Way
6:21 am
Mon April 22, 2013

Miranda Rights And Tsarnaev: Ex-U.S. Attorney General Weighs In

Credit Matt Rourke / AP
U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said Friday that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, suspected of carrying out a bombing attack on the Boston Marathon, will not be read his Miranda rights before he is questioned.

Originally published on Sun April 21, 2013 4:06 pm

Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has not yet been questioned — but officials' decision not to read him his Miranda rights before interrogation is the subject of much debate.

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The Two-Way
1:39 pm
Sun April 21, 2013

Boston Update: Officials Wait To Question Suspect; Memorial Held Sunday

Credit Mario Tama / Getty Images
People gather at a makeshift memorial for victims of the Boston Marathon bombings at the edge of the still-closed section of Boylston Street. The surviving suspect in the case, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, remains in the hospital.

Originally published on Mon April 22, 2013 8:26 am

(Most recent update: 4:20 p.m. ET)

Investigators are still waiting to interview Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, whose wounds reportedly include injuries to his neck and leg. An official tells CNN that Tsarnaev has been "intubated and sedated," rendering him unable to speak with them.

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The Two-Way
7:24 am
Sun April 21, 2013

Boat's Owner Hailed As A Hero After Bombing Suspect Tsarnaev Is Found

Originally published on Sat April 20, 2013 7:06 pm

Watertown, Mass., resident David Henneberry's name was on many people's lips Saturday, as the hero who called police to say bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev might be hiding in his back yard. Massachusetts State Police have now released images that show what the authorities saw from a police helicopter as a wounded Tsarnaev hid under a tarp.

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The Two-Way
6:42 am
Tue April 16, 2013

2013 Pulitzers Honor Sharon Olds, Adam Johnson, New York Times

Originally published on Tue April 16, 2013 9:37 am

The new batch of Pulitzer Prize winners has just been announced, with novelist Adam Johnson winning the fiction prize with The Orphan Master's Son. The winners of the prizes for Americans' best work in journalism, drama, music, and writing also receive a $10,000 cash award.

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The Two-Way
12:55 pm
Sun April 14, 2013

Violence Hits Guantanamo Bay, As Inmates Continue Hunger Strikes

Credit Suzette Laboy / AP
A view of the the U.S. Naval Station base in Guantanamo Bay Cuba. Guards and prisoners fought Saturday, as inmates were moved into individual cells instead of communal housing.

Originally published on Sun April 14, 2013 1:06 pm

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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The Two-Way
12:32 pm
Sat April 13, 2013

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

Credit YouTube
Francine Wheeler, seen here delivering the presidential address alongside her husband, David, urged the Senate to pass gun control legislation.

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

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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