I want to apologize for accidentally posting last week’s episode again for folks to get. I have now posted the correct episode that I recorded with Blake. I was afraid something like this would happen but am grateful that it happened around the twentieth episode instead of earlier.
Downloads and plays at this point should have the new episode in play. If you are wondering why the episode bounced back up on the front page, such was part of trying to get iTunes to see that as an episode revision so that iTunes users would get a re-post with the correct episode. Unfortunately it did not work. Users of iTunes will have to manually download the episode to hear it or would have to engage in the kludge of unsubscribing then re-subscribing to the feed.
How can this be avoided in the future? Well, financial support to the podcast might help to an extent. The past two weeks have been fairly rough with an odd situation at my “day job”. At a cost of USD$1,500 per month the podcast could become my day job and this would be my only concern. Such would also free me up to have more flexibility in trying to land interviews and not have to worry about what craziness might erupt at my day job. You can find out how to donate at http://www.lisnews.org/node/29265 as well as learn how you can buy ad time to promote either you or your product.
For now, enjoy the newly posted episode. Feel free to leave comments or feedback. Follow the contact details at http://www.lisnews.org/node/29265 if you want to try co-hosting the podcast with me via Skype.
I don’t think it counts as
I don’t think it counts as an apology if you attempt to extort money in the same breath.
Wow, that is acid filled
I would imagine that calling what was written to be extortion might well be a wee bit over the top. I tried to be straightforward about things. There was a problem. I had to resolve it. This is a way to resolve it so that it does not happen again. After a week where 40 hours was considered “part time” it is somewhat surprising that I was even able to pull off what I could. With the continuing emergency at my place of work there is seemingly no end to it yet and, with the way the labor market is locally, jumping ship is a non-starter. It is not like this is the first time I have asked folks to support the program.
It is somewhat disturbing to think that the podcast could be run for free indefinitely. Booking guests is not an instantaneous matter. It took a few days to track down Mr. Dvorak and finally conduct the interview segment. Putting ideas together can take up to 40 hours a week or more from start to finish. Equipment breaks and has to be replaced as my tripping over cables at times can cause. Putting out a podcast that people might listen to is not a zero-cost proposition.
The funny thing is how much balking there is to any financial support at all. The full cost of conducting operations per year would be around sixty thousand dollars per year. That I am only looking for funding to cover eighteen thousand dollars per year means I am only seeking to cover thirty percent of production cost with most of that going to equipment purchasing and a small fraction going to pay subsistence wage so that I can keep a roof over my head. The reason I find all this surprising is how some are able to support things like NPR or PBS yet cannot or will not support something in the profession. Relatively speaking our costs are far lower than those of NPR or PBS affiliates.
If you regard the post as a threat, I can only regard that as paranoia. There is no threat there. Such should be seen as a cry for help. Blake has heard enough of that cry for help from me as it is. The question is, can you hear it?
________________________
Stephen Kellat, Host, LISTen
If I were prone to vulgarity…
If I were prone to vulgarity I would use some of my fine friend Fang-Face’s bon mots.
However I am not (unless performing auto repairs) prone to such and thus I must simply call you a boor. I also made a small donation in your name. I hope you are pleased.
Putz
Okay, no vulgarity . . . this once.
Mdoneil, you are a hypocrite.
There is nothing that cannot be found offensive by someone, somewhere.
Fang,
Did you think otherwise? I don’t think I claimed to be anything but.
P.S. when you get a chance see if you can send some nice cooler weather down this way.
$60k a year? Seriously?
$60K is ridiculous for putting out a 20-30 minute weekly podcast. That comes to $2300 a podcast. For a basic podcast all you really need equipment wise is a computer (which you have), a microphone ($30 or so), some recording software (Audacity is freeware), a broadband internet connection (which I imagine you already have anyway since most people do, especially techies like yourself), and some bandwith to host the podcast (which LISNews.com provides). By my guess that’d be less than a thousand in the first year as an initial investment, then a few hundred in subsequent years.
As for content, LISNews provides it all for free, so there’s no need to be spending 40 hours a week on it. For the podcast just do a weekly summary of all the news stories that are posted here (heck, you could even just read what is posted), adding your own comments about each story. If you want to jazz it up a little you could have a special guest each week for free–just ask coworkers and colleagues at other libraries to come on the show and talk, or even have LISNews readers be guests via phone conversations that you record.
Really, Mr. Kellet, either you’re exagerrating your expenses a ton (which seems likely) or you’re wasting your money a ton (which also seems likely). Tens of thousands of people put out weekly podcasts, and I guarantee you they’re not spending $60k a year doing so. As for subsistence wage, that’s what your real job is for. Podcasting for LISNews is a hobby, not a job, and there’s no reason you should be paid for it unless LISNews makes it a salaried position for you.
$18,000
I think he was asking for $1500/month. Twelve months times $1500 is $18,000 not $60,000.
I don’t think he is going to get that. Also he needs to be more professional. Mentions of how messed up his job are and comments about tripping over cords does not imbue me with a sense of confidence that if funds were given they would be used wisely.