People's Media Platform

Hi everyone, I'm no longer doing this podcast anymore.

Instead, I'll be doing a new show called Media Growth Lab on how podcasters, publishers, YouTubers and anyone in media can grow their platform.

I'll be interviewing experts, as well as give you a behind-the-scenes look at the strategies I'm using with my own media outlet.

You can head over to mediagrowthlab.com to sign-up and listen to the first interview and blog post. 

In this episode, I sit down with Alex Kotch and Walker Bragman, the folks behind OptOut, a soon-to-be-released news app that gives a platform to independent, non-corporate media.

We discuss their plans for the app, how they view progressive media, and the unique moment we’re in as new left media rapidly grows.

OptOut - Website and Twitter
Walker Bragman - Twitter
Alex Kotch - Twitter
Gilded Age - Podcast and Twitter

Please subscribe to my newsletter to be notified when new episodes are released and when I share news and analysis. 

David Doel runs the Rational National, a YouTube channel he's grown to over 300,000 subscribers.

David joined me to talk about how he got started with YouTube, his experiences building and monetizing his show, the challenges he's faced along the way and advice he has for people looking to build their own channel.

Rational National - YouTube channel

Show notes
4:10 - What lead him to YouTube
8:20 - Persuading and educating non-leftist
10:45 - How he chooses show topics
12:40 - Challenges he faced building a YouTube channel
17:10 - New YouTube features
19:20 - The role of livestreaming 
21:18 - Growing his audience
24:50 - Differentiation between David and other shows
27:10 - A normal day as a YouTuber
31:50 - Balancing YouTube and your life
37:27 - Ways to generate revenue
38:54 - The role of community in YouTube
40:08 - Why he isn't following the Young Turks model
42:40 - Where left media is going
46:14 - Why the right has been successful online
52:13 - Advice to people starting out

In this episode, I talk to Jordan and Matt, two of the people behind CanadaLeft, a subreddit building a leftist community of Canadian content and stories.

We talked about why they started CanadaLeft, what is Reddit, how to manage a community and why it’s such a useful platform.

Join r/CanadaLeft today.

Follow People's Media Platform on Twitter and subscribe to the newsletter. 

Contents
1:40 - Why launch CanadaLeft 
4:00 - The structure of Reddit, why it works 
7:32 - Structure of Reddit, managing a community
10:23 - Role of moderators
11:42 - How do you build a Reddit community
13:46 - Keeping community members engaged
16:05 - How to promote your content on Reddit
18:40 - r/Canada
21:20 - Is the left using Reddit properly?
26:22 - Advice for leftist media people when using Reddit

Twitter. It’s either the best social network, or responsible for our broken political system. 

Beyond all the hyperbole, Twitter serves as a special place for progressives. More so than many other social network, it’s helped create and build awareness about a new generation of leftists who otherwise wouldn’t have a platform. 

In this episode, I talked to Rob Rousseau,. If you follow leftist Twitter, you’ll have inevitably seen Robs’ account going viral. Rob is part of that new generation of leftists that are harnessing Twitter to build new and exciting leftist media.

I talked to Rob about how he built his audience, how he used his audience to launch other media, which we talk about, the struggle all of us face for turning twitter fans into subscribers, how the leftist twitter community is shaping mainstream corporate media and whether the left can win without building an alternative to corporate media.

Follow Rob on Twitter and check out his shows 49th Parallel, The Insurgents and Big Rings Pod. Make sure to support Rob's incredible work on Patreon

Contents
1:48 - How Rob built his Twitter following
11:56 - Is Twitter good or bad for the left
15:35 - Managing mental health
18:10 - Rob’s different shows
23:26 - Growing online leftist communities and the importance of working together
26:30 - Turning Twitter fans into subscribers
30:45 - Discord, merch and community building
34:30 - Canada’s podcasting ecosystem
36:02 - How the left is shaping news and media
39:36 - Canada vs US leftist media
43:38 - Can the left win without building an alternative to corporate media?

Subscribe to the People's Media Platform newsletter to make sure you never miss an episode - subscribe now

Being a leftist in corporate media can be hard. Being a leftist in corporate media while also working in Alberta is really hard.

In this episode, I talk to Albertan journalist and podcaster Jeremy Appel about his experiences working at the Medicine Hat News, his transition to independent freelancing and podcasting, his experience working at the Toronto Sun, whether the left can change corporate media and what our community can learn from mainstream media.

Follow Jeremy on Twitter, listen to Big Shiny Takes and Forgotten Corner.

I try to write every so often. To get articles delivered when they're published, subscribe to my newsletter.

Contents
2:45 - Jeremy's time at Medicine Hat News and why the Conservatives dislike him
16:25 - Can the left work within corporate media and have our ideas heard?
21:19 - The lack of local leftist media
24:50 - The lack of left local news
29:07 - Jeremy's transition from mainstream to independent media 
33:54 - The lack of criticism of media pundits
33:56 - Aesthetics in left media and the need to be less serious
44:04 - How left media can engage with non-leftists
41:59 - A rant about the Toronto Sun, The Star and corporate media 
50:15 - Should the left and independent media try to operate within institutional power structures?
54:13 - Differences between left and right columnists
58:15 - What can the left learn from mainstream media 
62:19 - Advice for leftist journalists in mainstream media

As newspapers die and online publications grow, a funny thing is happening: leftist physical publications are thriving. Outlets like Jacobin and Current Affairs are building entire outlets on magazine subscriptions. So why is this?

In this episode, I speak to the team behind Briarpatch, a leftist magazine based out of Regina, Canada.

We discuss why physical publications can be successful in an age of online media, the importance of having a niche topical focus rather than just being broad, and nitty-gritty process and economics behind physical publications.

2:25 - The role of editor and publisher
12:00 - Publishing with a small team
16:07 - Publishing process
18:12 - Advertising within your publication
20:40 - Online vs magazine audience
25:26 - Importance of topic/region specificity
31:01 - Balancing reporting and activism
34:10 - Shaping news vs reporting
39:28 - Costs and economics of physical publications

Follow Saima and John and check out Briarpatch today. 

I'm joined by Joel Laforest, one of the people behind Alberta Advantage a political commentary podcast based out of Alberta offering news and analysis from a left-wing perspective.

We discuss what it takes to build a podcast, why they focus on research over riffing and how to build an engaged and active community.

3:50 - About Alberta Advantage
7:50 - Podcasting tools
9:10 - Identifying your audience
11:35 - Building your audience from zero
14:16 - What you wish you had known when starting your podcast
16:55 - How to grow your audience
20:40 - Integrating products/swag

Listen to Alberta Advantage, subscribe to their newsletter and support their show

Geoff talks to Aaron Lake Smith, author of Breitbart for the Left, about Weimar Germany media mogul Willi Munzenberg and what progressives can learn on building mass media.

Subscribe to the People's Media Platform newsletter to make sure you never miss an episode - subscribe now

Show Notes
Breitbart for the Left - read now

There has never been a better time to start a progressive media platform.

​But very little advice has been written for progressives.

​The People's Media Platform is here to share ideas, strategies and tactics to help you create a sustainable progressive media platform, without the need for venture capital, advertising or other corporate-backed funding. 

People's Media Platform is hosted by Geoff Sharpe, who's started two successful progressive online media publications.