Not every local podcaster wants to be a reporter, but all local podcasters are storytellers. Journalism can help you tell local stories better.

When I met Butler Cain, he was running the newsroom at Alabama Public Radio. Today he is a professor at the University of North Alabama and is chair of the Department of Communications.

Listen and learn principles of journalism for your local podcast.

Mentioned in this episode

“If it bleeds, it leads” is easy and formulaic.

Find a better way: Cover things not covered by local media

Don’t be a one-and-done reporter. Explore stories from multiple angles over multiple episodes.

Find out how issues and policies affect people

Audio requires good writing

The “red ball” exercise

Journalism is never 100% truth (wait, what??)

Journalism needs to get better at explanation and analysis

Even legacy radio and television could use podcasts to share the journalistic process with their audience to rebuild credibility

People cannot be totally objective, but the journalism process should be.

What do to if you’re not sure you fully understand a story

What IS journalism?

Consider these questions:

• Why is this important?


• Why does this need to be heard?


• Why invest your time and effort on this story?

Come up with ideas you want to explore

• Write questions related to that


• Find experts with informed opinions, not just people on the street.


• Realize there are more than just two sides, so cover multiple perspectives.

Support for Podcast Local comes from the Satchel Podcast Player for Android and iPhone. Satchel makes it easy to discover podcasts produced in your hometown. Learn more at SatchelPlayer.com.

Follow Butler Cain on Twitter @ButlerCain

Read Butler’s blog at ButlerCain.com

Links to Resources

The World News Prism: Digital, Social and Interactive Kindle Edition (Amazon affiliate link)

Jonathan Kern’s Sound Reporting: The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production (Amazon affiliate link)

NPR’s Editorial Training site: Hone your craft, on air and online.

Society of Professional Journalists

SPJ Code of Ethics

Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA)

RTDNA Code of Ethics

NPR Ethics Handbook