Podcast Local

Not every local podcaster wants to be a reporter, but all local podcasters are storytellers. Journalism can help you tell local stories better.

When I met Butler Cain, he was running the newsroom at Alabama Public Radio. Today he is a professor at the University of North Alabama and is chair of the Department of Communications.

Listen and learn principles of journalism for your local podcast.

Mentioned in this episode

"If it bleeds, it leads" is easy and formulaic.

Find a better way: Cover things not covered by local media

Don't be a one-and-done reporter. Explore stories from multiple angles over multiple episodes.

Find out how issues and policies affect people

Audio requires good writing

The "red ball" exercise

Journalism is never 100% truth (wait, what??)

Journalism needs to get better at explanation and analysis

Even legacy radio and television could use podcasts to share the journalistic process with their audience to rebuild credibility

People cannot be totally objective, but the journalism process should be.

What do to if you're not sure you fully understand a story

What IS journalism?

Consider these questions:

Why is this important?

Why does this need to be heard?

Why invest your time and effort on this story?

Come up with ideas you want to explore

Write questions related to that

Find experts with informed opinions, not just people on the street.

Realize there are more than just two sides, so cover multiple perspectives.

Support for Podcast Local comes from the Satchel Podcast Player for Android and iPhone. Satchel makes it easy to discover podcasts produced in your hometown. Learn more at SatchelPlayer.com.

Follow Butler Cain on Twitter @ButlerCain

Read Butler's blog at ButlerCain.com

Links to Resources

The World News Prism: Digital, Social and Interactive Kindle Edition (Amazon affiliate link)

Jonathan Kern's Sound Reporting: The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production (Amazon affiliate link)

NPR's Editorial Training site: Hone your craft, on air and online.

Society of Professional Journalists

SPJ Code of Ethics

Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA)

RTDNA Code of Ethics

NPR Ethics Handbook

Local podcasting is an interesting way to tell the stories of your community.

Your community is filled with fascinating people, interesting places, and curious things.

All of those things are stories.

And all of those stories are waiting for someone to tell them.

Is there a local podcast for your hometown?

Would you like to start one?

Discover ways you can tell the stories of your community by listening to Podcast Local.

This episode offers insights from 5 conversations with local podcasters.

Support for Podcast Local comes from the Satchel Podcast Player for Android and iPhone. Satchel makes it easy to discover podcasts produced in your hometown. Learn more at SatchelPlayer.com.

Mentioned in this episode

Podcast Local conversations:

Mark Bologna from Beyond Bourbon Street

Beau York from Let's Talk Jackson

Kevin Barron from Beyond the Riverwalk

Lee Ball from This is Rammy

Chris Holifield from I Am Salt Lake

Local Podcasts

Mahoning Valley Podcast (northeast Ohio)

Beyond Bourbon Street (New Orleans, Lousiana)

Beyond the Riverwalk (San Antonio, Texas)

Let's Talk Jackson (southern Mississippi)

This is Rammy (Ramsbottom, UK)

I Am Salt Lake (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Listener question

Dwight Stickler @MValleyPodcast on Twitter

Ask your question or share insights by voice or email

Other mentions

Podcast Movement

99% Invisible with Roman Mars

Ira Glass on the Creative Process

Geography-based Podcasts Group on Facebook

Do you have to live in a large city if you want to make a successful local podcast?

If that question is on your mind, listen to this episode.

Lee Ball has an important perspective on local podcasting. His community is a small town in the UK called Ramsbottom, and he's been telling the stories of his community for two years.

In the first half of the conversation, Lee Ball explains:

Why his name sometimes appears to be Lee Nukes?

Why Ramsbottom is named Ramsbottom

Why Ramsbottom is called "Rammy"

Where in the world is Ramsbottom? (A geography lesson)

Why Lee Ball decided to start a local podcast for Ramsbottom?

What it is like podcasting for a very small town

What those "smart motorways" are

Lee's perspective on talking about controversial topics in his local podcast

Support for Podcast Local comes from the Satchel Podcast Player for Android and iPhone. Satchel makes it easy to discover podcasts produced in your hometown. Learn more at SatchelPlayer.com.

In the second half of the conversation, Lee Ball answers these questions:

Who is the target audience for This is Rammy?

What was Lee Ball's experience using Facebook ads to promote his local podcast?

Which podcast media host does he use: Libsyn or Blubrry?

What are Lee's plans for the future of This is Rammy

What has been his experience with podcast sponsorships?

What is better than making money with a local podcast?

What tech does Lee use to record, edit, and publish his podcast?

To script or not to script? Lee answers that question for himself

What did Lee Ball learned from Daniel J. Lewis?

What is Lee's typical, weekly process for preparing This is Rammy?

What insights and advice does he have for YOU when you're ready to start your own local podcast?

Connect with Lee Ball online at:

ThisIsRammy.co.uk

"When you have a small community, each person in that community plays a very major role in making that community great. And without this person maybe this wouldn't have happened. Or this person got inspired from this person. And it just becomes a chain effect where each person is really what is making the city great. And we need to spotlight those people and give them a chance to tell their story."

-Chris Holifield from I Am Salt Lake

Listen to episode 9 for insights and advice for local podcasters:

How Chris Holifield's background influences his local podcast

Podcasting as a passion

Podcaster origin story and the Instagram connection

Plans for the future of I Am Salt Lake

How listener engagement has grown

How he uses Facebook

Sponsors for local podcasts

The difference between sponsorship by local businesses and featuring local businesses on your local podcast

Chris Holifield loves interviews. Find out why and how he approaches conversations on his podcast.

How the podcast has changed with the addition of a co-host (Krissie Shelley)

His target audience

Taking his podcast live—on stage!

His approach to editing his podcast

His recording setup

What does Chris like most about podcasting?

What does he like least?

What does he want to get better at?

The biggest thing Chris Holifield has learned that other local podcasters should seriously consider

Links to local podcasting resources

I Am Salt Lake, the podcast hosted by Chris Holifield and Krissie Shelley

Geography-based Podcasts group on Facebook

Support for Podcast Local comes from the Satchel Podcast Player for Android and iPhone. Satchel makes it easy to discover podcasts produced in your hometown. Learn more at SatchelPlayer.com.

Kevin and Melissa Barron have just launched a new local podcast for San Antonio, Texas. On this episode, Kevin shares his plans and hopes for the new show.

Support for Podcast Local comes from the Satchel Podcast Player for Android and iPhone. Satchel makes it easy to discover podcasts produced in your hometown. Learn more at SatchelPlayer.com.

Mentioned in this Episode

Beyond the River Walk: Newcomer's Guide to San Antonio

Beyond Bourbon Street: Mardi Gras Indians: History & Traditions!

Geography-based Podcasts group on Facebook

No matter the format your local podcast, you are telling the stories of your community.

So how do you become a better storyteller?

"Practice" is certainly part of the answer. But before you can practice, you need some knowledge of stories and how to communicate with your voice, music, and sounds.

The purpose of this episode is to point you toward resources that will give you the knowledge you need to improve your audio storytelling abilities.

Plus, I'll give you 7 ideas for telling the stories of your community.

BONUS: The last resource I'll mention is a surprise. You have to listen to the episode to discover what that is.

Continue reading to get the links to resources mentioned in this episode.

Support for Podcast Local comes from the Satchel Podcast Player for Android and iPhone. Satchel makes it easy to discover podcasts produced in your hometown. Learn more at SatchelPlayer.com.

Mentioned in this episode

National Register of Historic Places

Podcast Dallas Meetup

Around Plano Podcast (iTunes) (Facebook)

Serial

This American Life

RadioLab

NPR (National Public Radio)

Transom.org (articles about using music)

Jonathan Kern's Sound Reporting: The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production (Amazon affiliate link)

Jessica Abel's Out on the Wire resources

Out on the Wire: The Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio, the graphic novel (Amazon affiliate link)

Out on the Wire, the podcast

Out on the Wire, the Google+ group

NPR Training

NPR Training: Learn the Basics

The heart of local podcasting (Podcast Local episode 1)

Tell the stories of your community's history (Podcast Local episode 4)

3 approaches to using music (Podcast Local episode 6)

How do you use music in your local podcast?

Discover the potential controversy of choosing music unwisely. What is the music of your community?

Also learn how to make unique theme music. No, it's not free. But it's worth it.

Then pick up an audio editing technique to help you communicate more clearly. It's a technical-but-artistic way to mix music grammatically into each local episode.

Support for Podcast Local comes from the Satchel Podcast Player for Android and iPhone. Satchel makes it easy to discover podcasts produced in your hometown. Learn more at SatchelPlayer.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

AudioBlocks.com is a subscription-based source for unlimited downloads of royalty-free production music, sound effects, and loops. Download anything you want, and use it in any type of project forever.

Mark Bologna is the host and producer of Beyond Bourbon Street, a local podcast about New Orleans.

In this episode, Mark and I talk about his reasons for starting the show, his process for preparing and producing it, and ideas for the future.

We also discuss sponsorship opportunities and strategies unique to local podcasters.

Mentioned in this episode

During the episode, Mark uses the word "lagniappe." What is that? Find out in Mark's episode about The Language of New Orleans.

Geography-based podcast group on Facebook

Mark's interview with Chef James Cullen

Lou Mongello from WDW Radio, the Walt Disney World podcast

Chris Holifield from I Am Salt Lake

Joel Sharpton's Mondays with the Mayor (of Ruston, Louisiana)

Bowery Boys: New York City History

The Food Show with Tom Fitzmorris on WWL

Arthur Hardy's Mardi Gras Guide

Podcast Movement

Support for Podcast Local comes from the Satchel Podcast Player for Android and iPhone. Satchel makes it easy to discover podcasts produced in your hometown. Learn more at SatchelPlayer.com.

How did your community become the place it is today?

If you don't know, find out. Local podcasters are storytellers, and history is an important way to tell the stories of your community.

Mentioned in this episode

I referenced a few local podcasts in this episode, including

Josh Tolleson's 318 Now Podcast

Bill Nowicki's Marietta Stories

Episode: The Civil War in Marietta with Michael Shaffer, Part 1

Episode: The Civil War Comes to Marietta, Part 2

Mark Bologna's Beyond Bourbon Street

Episode: All Aboard the New Orleans Streetcar!

Support for Podcast Local comes from the Satchel Podcast Player for Android and iPhone. Satchel makes it easy to discover podcasts produced in your hometown. Learn more at SatchelPlayer.com.

Secret of Old Bryce

The student documentary produced in 2003.

Why is this here?

Listen to the episode before watching to understand the context.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhQ1nKTBu24

Listen now to a conversation with a local podcaster.

Beau York is the host of Let's Talk Jackson, a local podcast in Mississippi.

One of the best ways to learn how to podcast better is to listen to podcasters talk about their experiences and production process.

Listen as Beau York talks about his journey into podcasting, the pronunciation of his podcast network, and the Satchel Podcast Player that has special benefits for local podcasters.

Beau York on Twitter: TheRealBeauYork

Let's Talk Jackson

Podastery Network

The Satchel Player

Support for Podcast Local comes from the Satchel Podcast Player for Android and iPhone. Satchel makes it easy to discover podcasts produced in your hometown. Learn more at SatchelPlayer.com.