Podcasts by High School Journalists: The News Cycle

What is your name?
Iris Harshaw

Where can your podcast be found?
http://www.bluedevilhub.com/category/the-news-cycle/

Please describe your podcast and why you thought it would be a good topic to have a podcast on.
Our podcast is about local news in Davis, California. Our school paper primarily covers school and student news, so when we started our podcast, we wanted it to be about broader city news. With our local newspaper having to cut back staff every year, they don’t have enough people or money to produce regular media content. We hope that our podcast fills that whole. We try to cover the most important city news as well as providing a student angle for many stories.

How has the podcast changed since the first show? What are some things you’ve learned and done to make it better?
Our editing skills have exponentially increased since our first episode. I also think that our most recent episodes are more attention-catching and our utilization of natural sound has improved. We have learned how to capture sounds wherever we are, how to layer sound effectively, and how to use music intermittently to set the right mood. Our original format had long interviews with individual people, but now, the episodes feature many perspectives and are much more interesting to listen to.

What tools do you use to record, edit and publish your podcast?
I use a Blue brand microphone to record my interviews, and we have a collection of smaller field microphones. We all edit on Adobe Audition. The podcast is simultaneously published on our WordPress website, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

What advice do you have for others looking to make a podcast?
Try to publish something every week. Don’t be afraid to try new formats and editing styles. Listen to other professional podcasts for inspiration. Try to enjoy producing your podcast. If you’re not enjoying it anymore, it’s time to try a different style and mix it up a little.

Aaron Manfull

Aaron is in his 26th year of advising student media. He is currently the Director of Student Media at Francis Howell North High School in St. Charles, Missouri. He is the Journalism Education Association Digital Media Chair and co-Director of Media Now. He is the 2023 JEA Teacher Inspiration Award Winner and is a former Dow Jones News Fund National Journalism Teacher of the Year. He is one of the authors of the textbook "Student Journalism and Media Literacy." You can find him on X and Instagram @manfull. He's a proud father. A transplanted Iowan. And an avid Hawkeye Fan.

Aaron Manfull has 862 posts and counting. See all posts by Aaron Manfull

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