Sticky Jams, Sticky Politics, Sticky Weather…
Songwriter Andrew Duhon & The American Zombie Blogger Jason Berry join us for an all-new episode of The Sticky, full of exclusives you won’t find anywhere else.
See/hear/read more here
Image: Beware Pickpockets, Ray Nagin, and Loose Women via Dirty Coast
Via Julie Shapiro at Transom.org:
What’s the aural equivalent of a vantage point? From whatever that’s called, from my perch at the Third Coast International Audio Festival, an observation has been increasingly nagging. It’s nothing new, it’s fairly obvious, and it deserves your attention. It is the lack of female hosts in the ever-widening world of podcasts.
I generally keep up (or try to) with what’s out there in the radio/audio/podcast cosmos, so I’ve been aware that male-hosted podcasts (MHPs) out-number women-hosted podcasts (WHPs), easily. But the actual numbers floored me. According to the widely-used podcast-delivery phone app Stitcher, as of mid-February, 2013, out of the top 100 podcasts in their system, 71 are hosted by men (many by two or three men), 11 are hosted by women (of which three are just 60 seconds long), 9 are co-hosted by a man and woman, and 9 are either NPR or BBC news aggregation podcasts with alternating hosts and reporters, or it’s unclear who hosts. iTunes results were similar.
Though these numbers may not surprise, they should alarm you too. And they point to the disappointing truth: that podcasting – hailed back in 2004 as a “revolutionary” new tool for freedom of expression and endless creative opportunity – quickly copped the same gender stereotypes and realities that traditional broadcasting environments have demonstrated throughout history.
Of course I’m not the only one who’s noticed this, or thinks about it. Nick van der Kolk (Snap Judgement, Love + Radio) posited the question via Facebook back in 2011, and Ashley Milne-Tyte (The Broad Experience) wrote about it last year, just to point to a couple of previous public ponderings. But it is an issue that merits continuous noise, so here’s an attempt to bang on a few more pots and pans about the situation.
I asked two dozen people (half women, half men) in the extended Third Coast community (producers, pub radio decision-makers, podcast hosts) to weigh in on the topic. A little more than half responded. Of those who did, approximately 85% were women. What follows are my own thoughts, combined with observations and opinions from those who responded to my questions. Without getting too investigative, or too scientific, or too statistically inclined, there seem to be a few main factors (and many smaller ones) contributing to the egregious imbalance of MHPs to WHPs.
Read on for Julie’s thoughts and examples of great female-hosted podcasts and programming.
As many of you know, I’m a huge fan and supporter of radio and audio programs. One of my favorite web-based sources to check out audio content is New York City’s Art on Air, because they have such a wide variety of programs: lectures, plays, music mixes, performance art using sound, poetry readings…you name it, they’ve probably done it before, or will do it at some point.
Their power was out for several days due to the storm. They’ll be back with a special broadcast on Hurricane Sandy from 2-5pm Eastern time today. You should check it out.
07.12.12 The adventure begins …
My storytelling sucks …
… but that’s okay, because I have good taste.
Here’s some great advice from one of the most famous names in audio journalism. This is an excellent example of why I’m taking the leap and doing projects like 30 Days of Audio as well as seeking out workshops. I know from experience that I hated listening to my work for the longest time. Sometimes, I still do.
Yet every time I finish a piece, it always informs how I work on the next one, both in terms of what I did that I want to continue doing, and what I want to differently next time.
Ira Glass on storytelling and harnessing creativity.
Illustrated by David Shiyang Liu.
July in Bloom:
Lush, Lavender roses in front of a Garden District home in New Orleans. Photo by Aura Fedora.
The blog is growing and I’ve got a lot coming up in the month of July!
On July 6th, I turn 30. To celebrate, and to kick off a year of “adventures in storytelling and sound” I’m starting 30 Days of Audio - a new audio post every day for 30 days. Expect to see posts from my new podcast, new Audio Filé posts for Nola Defender, never-before-heard Backstage on the Bayou interviews, outtakes, and bonus material from the archives, as well as other experiments with field recordings and other fun surprises.
On July 14th and 15th, I’ll be participating in BarCampNola! Stay tuned for more details.
July 22nd, Clarence Darrow, the one-man show about the life of the famed lawyer and champion of the underdog, written by David W. Rintels, starring Michael Martin and directed by Glen Meche, opens at Café Istanbul. I am stage managing this production.
July 24th - 29th, Tales of the Cocktail! I’ll be out there all week. You should be, too.
I’ll be announcing some other little fun things throughout the month.
Peace and thanks for following. Now let’s create more stories to tell. *~ AF
