Hack43.Syndicate Your Podcasts to the Radio


Hack 43. Syndicate Your Podcasts to the Radio

Using the PRX service, you can play your podcasts on National Public Radio (NPR).

The revolution is not yet complete, and in fact it doesn't necessarily ever have to be. Commercial radio might have started to sound stale through relentless consolidation, but public radio in America makes a point to look for new voices and innovative ways of producing audio. A motivated pod-caster can contribute a lot to the community of listeners around a local public radio station, and there's a lotproduction tricks, a community of producersthat the station can give back.

And think of the exposure you'd get for your podcast by broadcasting just a single audio segment on a national program. More than 113 million Americans still drive to work, and there's still an FM radio in every car.

How do you do this? You can start at the Public Radio Exchange (http://prx.org/). PRX is a web-based marketplace for public radio work. Independent audio producers use PRX to make high-quality audio features and documentaries availablethrough standardized licensing termsto public radio stations. In return, the stations, when they choose to air your work, pay a royalty back out to you through PRX.

Benjamen Walker, a public radio producer (who used to be a comic-book artist), began podcasting his experimental weekly half-hour audio show, The Theory of Everything (http://toeradio.org), in September 2004. In April 2005, he was looking at 7,500 downloads a week, but also was reaching hundreds of thousands of additional listeners through a couple of public radio stations, including Chicago Public Radio, which started airing him, through PRX, a half hour after This American Life.

And yes, he noticed a traffic spike after his Chicago broadcast debut.

Here is a step-by-step guide to getting started:

  1. Open up a PRX account at http://www.prx.org/membership. A pro-ducer's starter account gives you a free hour of audio space.

  2. Encode your audio. PRX stores pieces as broadcast-quality MP2 files, a standard that stations use. An MP2 survives up and down the broadcast chain a little better than an MP3 does.

    To create an MP2, start with the original audio as a .wav file. Most higher-end audio editing tools allow you to save to .wav; if yours doesn't, you can used the free and open source Audacity [Hack #50] (http://audacity.sf.net/) to load an MP3 and save it to .wav. Once you have a .wav of your podcast, use the free PRX encoder tool (http://www.prx.org/help) to convert it to an MP2.

  3. Upload your audio to PRX. PRX has built a free tool to manage this, too; the uploader tool comes with your encoder download. Enter your account info, drag and drop, and move your audio up to your "loading dock" on the PRX server.

  4. Create a piece listing. Log in to PRX, click My PRX, and then Add a piece. Take the time to fill out all the information here; the more thoroughly you describe your piece, the more likely a station is to pick it up. About 30 seconds' worth of suggested intro text makes it easy for a broadcast host to introduce your piece.

You're published! A public radio station can pick up your audio and put it on the air.

Hack 6.8.1. Producing to Time

That's not it, of course. As with any other market, you need to look at what the demanders are demanding. Podcasters have the luxury of producing their work as long or as short as the content merits; public radio producers have to fit a clock.

Here are some guidelines to follow:


Half-hour series

Benjamen Walker reports that a single human can't possibly produce more than a half hour of high-quality radio a week, so it might be the upper limit of regular productivity. Keep in mind, though, that public radio program directors, while open to inserting half-hour shows into their schedules, find it difficult to shuffle things around to fit a new half hour.


Periodic one-hour specials

Many stationsfor example, Seattle's KUOWleave one-hour slots open on the weekends for specials on current topics. If you have a lot of material or interviews on a single topic, consider producing it to 57 minutes (leaving time for transitions to make it broadcastable).


Three-and-a-half-minute drop-ins

Most public radio stations run NPR's morning and evening news programs, Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Both of these feed out to local stations with optional three-and-a-half-minute holes for local essays or news. Many stations broadcast exactly what they get from the national stream; offer them something from their own region for their own air.


Seven 15-minute segments

National shows, such as WNYC's The Next Big Thing, shop on PRX to find short segments for use in their weekly hour-long shows.

Hack 6.8.2. Get in Touch with Your Local Station

Public radio is largely a donation-driven business that relies heavily on volunteers and the love of the game. Check in with your local public radio station and let them know you have your own studio and are wandering around with a microphone, recording interviews. Tell them you want to produce a series of stories about a local housing development, or contribute a regular essay on local politics. It's harder to volunteer to be a part of the driven, professional staffs of large-market stations such as Boston's WBUR or New York's WNYC, but if you live in a small town, who knows? You might end up with your own show.

Brendan Greeley



    Podcasting Hacks
    Podcasting Hacks: Tips and Tools for Blogging Out Loud
    ISBN: 0596100663
    EAN: 2147483647
    Year: 2003
    Pages: 144

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