Katie Taranto is a 2023 RJI Student Innovation Fellow partnered with the Springfield News-Leader in Springfield, Missouri. The RJI Student Fellows will be sharing their innovative work through Innovation in Focus.
Locally driven podcasts offer listeners a distinct and personalized experience that nationally recognized podcasts cannot deliver. Podcasting can also help newsrooms meet new audiences where they’re at, while inviting the current audience to engage with a familiar medium. It’s an opportunity for both the newsroom and the community to try something new.
At the Springfield News-Leader, crafting a local sports podcast was a dream of reporter Wyatt Wheeler, whose coverage mostly centers high schools and Missouri State University. With some former sports radio experience — and a loyal audience in Springfield from his radio days — the idea was promising. We set out to learn all we could from what it’s like to launch a hyperlocal podcast.
Here are some tips for newsrooms and audio newbies hoping to start a local podcast: