Summary:
Welcome to another great episode of Startup Junkies!
On this episode, hosts Caleb Talley and Jeff Amerine sit down with Matthew Moore and Kyle Kellams of KUAF. Matthew is a reporter and producer for Ozarks at Large, a locally produced news podcast/daily show that covers news, sports, politics, arts, culture, and the quirky and unusual happenings in the Ozarks. Kyle has been the news director at KUAF for over twenty-five years and has been producing Ozarks at Large for over three decades. Throughout the episode, Caleb, Jeff, Matthew, and Kyle discuss the history and future of public radio, how podcasting has influenced traditional radio, and the burden of providing newsworthy content.
Show Notes:
(0:57) Introduction to Matthew and Kyle
(2:03) Matthew and Kyle’s Origin Stories
(7:02) Marrying Podcasting with Traditional Radio
(8:57) Podcasting’s Effect on the Radio Business
(10:52) Providing News Coverage to Large Areas
(14:24) A Public Radio Station’s Business Model
(20:11) Changes in the Radio Industry
(24:18) Listening to Your Own Content
(27:05) Interesting Moments
(32:46) When Earned Media Makes Sense
(37:11) Advice to Younger Selves
(40:10) Closing Questions
Links:
Quotes:
“I think for a certain number of people who had left radio for whatever reason, audio became cool again. For public radio, at least, podcasting is a natural rift back and forth.” – Kyle Kellams, (9:10)
“At Ozarks at Large sometimes we get to tell a different kind of story that you can really only tell on radio. If you were trying to tell that story in the paper or on TV, you would need different kinds of aids, but hearing someone tell a story from perfect memory in a way you can only do through audio is really cool.” – Matthew Moore, (13:42)
“I could talk forever about the fractured media landscape and the danger that it poses, but I think one of the great things going for us is there’s so many out there doing it like that and so few doing it like us, that we have people searching for the kind of radio we do.”– Kyle Kellams, (16:03)
“There’s this expectation of a kind of journalism, reporting, and storytelling they can hear from other stations like NPR. What they hear from Ozarks at Large is a very specific and very regional version of that. It’s high-quality and well-informed, unbiased storytelling.” – Matthew Moore, (16:34)
Public Radio, Podcasting, and Great Storytelling with Ozarks At Large
On this episode, hosts Caleb Talley and Jeff Amerine sit down with Matthew Moore and Kyle Kellams of KUAF. Matthew is a reporter and producer for Ozarks at Large, a locally produced news podcast/daily show that covers news, sports, politics, arts, culture, and the quirky and unusual happenings in the Ozarks. Kyle has been the news director at KUAF for over twenty-five years and has been producing Ozarks at Large for over three decades. Throughout the episode, Caleb, Jeff, Matthew, and Kyle discuss the history and future of public radio, how podcasting has influenced traditional radio, and the burden of providing newsworthy content.
The Unique Coupling of Podcasting and Radio
KUAF’s content is broadcasted to around sixteen counties in three different states: Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. With this wide of a region to cover, Ozarks at Large covers anything and everything of importance whether it’s a startup, author, band, or heartwarming story. It may seem daunting to have to cover this large of an area, however it’s also beneficial because they are never short on ideas. Since there are so many opportunities for content, there are times of doubt when they question if they missed a story or if they covered a story as well as they could have.
“At Ozarks at Large sometimes we get to tell a different kind of story that you can really only tell on radio. If you were trying to tell that story in the paper or on TV, you would need different kinds of aids, but hearing someone tell a story from perfect memory in a way you can only do through audio is really cool.” – Matthew Moore, (13:42)
The burden of producing newsworthy content is not a new concept to anybody who works in the radio industry. However, podcasting has heightened that concern because with podcasts, the audience can choose the content they listen to. This allows them to control the landscape in which they consume news. What Ozarks at Large has done exceptionally well in order to marry the podcasting world with radio is produce a daily show that they turn into a podcast.
“I think for a certain number of people who had left radio for whatever reason, audio became cool again. For public radio, at least, podcasting is a natural rift back and forth.” – Kyle Kellams, (9:10)
A Customer-Centric Business Model
The business model for a public radio station is incredibly different yet similar to other businesses. Public radio exists because of their listeners and donations. Therefore, their audience members are the ones who determine whether the station survives or not. This means their business model is customer-based, not product-based, because their customer’s attention is what’s most valuable. Are they making radio that informs them? Do they want to come back and spend time listening to them?
“There’s this expectation of a kind of journalism, reporting, and storytelling they can hear from other stations like NPR. What they hear from Ozarks at Large is a very specific and very regional version of that. It’s high quality and well-informed, unbiased storytelling.” – Matthew Moore, (16:34)
KUAF doesn’t run commercials, which is sometimes a source of income for radio stations. Therefore, it’s all the more important they’re producing content their audience wants to listen to. There’s a fine balance between creating content listeners want to consume and support while also providing an unbiased news value that doesn’t fall down the slippery slope of entertainment. Since Ozarks at Large has been running for so many years, they have built an incredible foundation of trust with their listeners in which their audience is confident their reporting is going to be excellent.
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