We just finished recording our 100th HCN Radio podcast. With almost 20,000 listens thus far the responsibility is much greater than I ever thought. Here are my Top 5 thoughts.
1. I didn’t even know what a podcast was when Edward McCain suggested in January 2014 that we take a shot at doing one. Thank you to a friend who realized that podcasts were the wave of the future and that we could help our community by being involved. The timing was perfect.
2. We’ve talked about AMWA, Athens’ water tank issues, the AISD bond, the Cain Center, the old hospital and a lot of sports. What’s truly amazing is that when we talked about an issue like the Cain Center, people took note and then they took action. What an amazing compliment. The audience heard the need to take action and did just that. When I ask Michael Hannigan if this happens in newspaper journalism, he looks at me with that really “are you dumb” look. Community members listening to local issues and doing something to fix the issue instead of just simply continuing to complain or ignore.
3. We are at the very beginning of scraping the surface of this opportunity to be heard. As the technology evolves, we too will have to continue to evolve. Agrees with us, disagree or simply not have an opinion, one way or the other, the dialogue is going to be moving further from print media to the internet.
4. Who better to discuss local issues than the local community? We don’t have to keep quiet, we have a voice that needs to be heard. The Cain Center is a perfect example. The citizens of the City spoke and the board of the Cain Center and our City Council members heard them loud and clear.
5. Time goes by way too fast. I can remember most of what was said in every podcast. Truly amazing. I love seeing the athletes on the podcast for the first time. They are fearless, just ask a question and get an honest answer. Honest answers – how refreshing.
Hope you continue to enjoy HCN Radio sponsored by Weinstein Law, Keller Williams Weinstein Realty, Henderson County Now and Uncle Fletch.