Podcasts, KCSN and American Public Media

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Authormike72x72_3 Commenters brought to my attention a few classical podcasts originating from stations. In case you didn’t see their additions to the original thread, here they are:

Boston’s WGBH offers Classical to Go!, a podcast featuring live performances from its studios. It doesn’t have a dedicated Web page, so here’s the direct XML link. Thanks to commenter lassus for that one.

WSHU in Fairfield, Conn., previews local symphony concerts (XML link). Thanks to Mike Crane for that heads-up. A great use of podcasts, in my opinion — strengthens community ties, puts voices of people in the arts community on the air, and helps to establish the station as a go-to place for information about local arts. That latter point, I think, will be especially important as people have more and more options for acquiring and listening to music. Even when they’re listening to streams from Saudi Arabia, they’ll still want to know where to see a live performance in their own backyards.

Know of more classical podcasts that stations are producing? Let us know.

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In radio news

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A couple of articles are making the rounds. One is a lament for old-timey radio filled with plenty of gloom and doom about the future of radio in general, that ran on Washingtonpost.com. The other is an upbeat article about the return of personality radio in L.A. and some great news about ratings and $$$. Bravo to KUSC and its terrific staff. In a recession, or even a slow-down (if that’s what we’ve agreed to call it), the arts often suffer first. Housing prices in the KUSC listening area have dropped a … Continue Reading

Tapping into the growing podcast audience

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Authormike72x72_3 Does the classical radio station you work at or listen to offer podcasts? I ask after reading a short item in the Radio and Internet Newsletter that highlighted a recent Edison Media Research study on podcasting. Edison found that the number of Americans listening to podcasts has increased from 13 percent to 18 percent over the past year. This might not sound huge, but it is a bigger jump than from 2006 to 2007, when that figure rose only 2 percent.

Based on this, an Edison veep said “radio stations would be smart to create as much podcast-able content as they can.” The newsletter continues: “Webster and other media insiders feel that the reported growing interest, combined with coming developments that will bring podcasts to mobile devices, will make the programming ‘extremely attractive’ to advertisers.”

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More From Jack Allen and KBPS in Portland

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Yesterday I promised you more about Jack Allen who is moving from KMFA in Austin to KBPS in Portland, OR. I asked him a bunch of questions about his plans for KBPS, and I’ll just quote his answers verbatim.

What is your overall vision for KBPS?

Vitality, service, reach, value, preeminence, prosperity, flexibility, and whimsy.

Do you think the station should be all local, or should it have a mix of the best from the rest of the country and local?

Local is important, critical in fact, but a mix is desirable. If folks come to rely on KBPS as their link and gateway to all things classical, the mix must include carefully selected programs and insights into events and ideas from around the region, US and globe.

How do you feel about airing live local concerts?

I believe in order to truly be local and relevant, we must seek out strategic partnerships and find those special events that put our regional and global audience in the front row of live & local performances. KBPS will be a unique ticket to all things, great things, local and regional, and sometimes global. The gal tuning in online from Berlin doesn’t want to hear musical selections (necessarily) from the Berlin Philharmonic. What’s the point? She may stay tuned if Robert McBride says, “…sit back and relax, sink your ears into this…performed here in the shadow of Mt. Hood, steps away from the Willamette River, at the juncture of the Oregon Trail…a new recording of the Portland Symphony Orchestra bringing to life the very American, the very adventurous and noble Symphony No. 9 by Antonin Dvorak, known as the ‘New World’ …enjoy.”

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