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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9:53am

Wed August 8, 2012
The Torch

Rogue Condoms Appear In Olympic Village; Organizers Take Action

Credit Scott Heavey / Getty Images

It should come as no surprise that Olympics organizers take brand endorsements and official suppliers very seriously. That extends beyond logos on shorts and shoes — up to, and including, condoms. That's right, the Olympics has an "official" condom — and organizers want to get to the bottom of how a bucket of rogue condoms reached the Olympic Village.

As has happened before at the London Games, it started with a tweet.

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8:48am

Wed August 8, 2012
The Torch

Let's Catch Up: London Abuzz Over Women's Soccer; Alternate Medal Count

Credit Cameron Spencer / Getty Images

Good morning. Only five days remain in the Summer Games, and China leads the United States in the medal count, with a total of 73 (34 gold) to America's 71 (30 gold). Here's other news that caught our eye this morning:

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2:12pm

Tue August 7, 2012
The Torch

Equestrian Group Clears Way For Cloned Horses To Compete In The Olympics

Originally published on Tue August 7, 2012 2:17 pm

Credit Laurent Cipriani / AFP/Getty Images

Will the London 2012 Games be remembered as the last Olympics of the pre-clone era? The answer is maybe — because the group that oversees equestrian events has given its OK to allowing cloned horses to compete in the Summer Olympics.

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12:05pm

Tue August 7, 2012
The Torch

Aly Raisman Becomes First U.S. Woman To Win Olympic Gold In Floor Exercise

Originally published on Tue August 7, 2012 12:23 pm

Credit Thomas Coex / AFP/Getty Images

U.S. gymnast Aly Raisman has won the gold medal in the women's floor exercise at the London 2012 Games. Her powerful routine garnered a score of 15.600 — enough to beat the 15.200 of Romania's Catalina Ponor, who turned in a technically strong performance.

Russia's Aliya Mustafina took bronze, with 14.900. American Jordyn Wieber finished seventh, with a 14.500 score.

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10:31am

Tue August 7, 2012
The Torch

Venezuela's Olympic Hero Gets A Parade To Celebrate Long-Awaited Gold

Credit Juan Barreto / AFP/Getty Images

The streets of Caracas, Venezuela, were awash in joy Monday, as fencer Rubén Limardo brought home the country's first gold medal in 44 years. That's right: the last time a Venezuelan Olympian won gold was in 1968. So, Limardo's fans could be forgiven for going a little crazy over it.

"I never imagined they'd receive me like this," he said.

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9:34am

Tue August 7, 2012
The Torch

National Zoo Names Cheetah Cubs After U.S. Sprinters

Credit Jacquelyn Martin / AP

Two cheetah cubs whose cuteness recently landed them on Facebook and Tumblr pages around the Internet have been named after U.S. Olympians competing in London.

Presumably, it was the cheetahs' fabled speed, not cuteness, that inspired officials at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., to name them Carmelita and Justin, after sprinters Carmelita Jeter and Justin Gatlin.

The three-month-old felines' namesakes won silver (Jeter) and bronze (Gatlin) medals in the 100-meter sprint at the Summer Games.

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9:14am

Tue August 7, 2012
The Torch

Gold Medal In Hand, U.S. Vaulter Suhr's 'Hangar Time' Seems Well Spent

Originally published on Tue August 7, 2012 10:32 am

Credit Gabriel Bouys / AFP/Getty Images

U.S. pole vaulter Jenn Suhr had a long-awaited breakthrough Monday evening, when she won the gold medal in her event at the London Olympics, clearing the bar at 15'7. She defeated a field that included two-time gold medalist Elena Isinbaeva of Russia, who has dominated women's pole vaulting in recent years.

Suhr, 30, won the silver medal in the event at the Beijing 2008 Games. In London's Olympic Stadium Monday, the vaulters were challenged by windy conditions that kept them well below world-record heights — and even had them clutching blankets to stay warm between attempts.

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8:08am

Tue August 7, 2012
The Torch

Let's Catch Up: Australia's Quiet Summer, And A U.S. Invasion

Credit Christophe Simon / AFP/Getty Images

Good morning. A lot has been happening in London, where the Summer Games are in their eleventh day. Here's a rundown of the news that caught our eye:

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7:47am

Tue August 7, 2012
The Torch

Coming Up On Day 11 Of The London Olympics

On the Olympics' eleventh day, artistic gymnasts will go for their last big batch of medals. There are 21 medals up for grabs Tuesday. Here are some of the highlights of the day's action:

Gymnastics

  • 9:00a Men's Parallel Bars Final
  • 9:47a Women's Beam Final
  • 10:37a Men's Horizontal Bar Final
  • 11:23a Women's Floor Exercise Final

Athletics (a.k.a. Track and Field)

  • 2:00p Men's High Jump Final
  • 2:15p Women's 100m Hurdles Semi-finals
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3:34pm

Mon August 6, 2012
The Torch

Boxer Claressa Shields,17, Reaches Olympic Semifinal, Where A Medal Awaits

Originally published on Mon August 6, 2012 5:44 pm

Credit Jack Guez / AFP/Getty Images

U.S. Olympic boxer Claressa Shields, the teenager whose dream of being in the first crop of Olympic women boxers led her to tell her story on All Things Considered back in February, will fight for a medal in London.

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