For my digital artifact, I had always intended to focus around sports media, as I was already contributing to a basketball site. However, in recognising that I was aiming to connect with more of a local audience, the concept of ‘Locals Only’ was born. I had hoped that by focusing on local issues, it would engage with my audience better, leading to more interaction and also increased feedback. Initially, I considered the idea of a blog or some type of forum to showcase Illawarra’s sporting talent:
However, a lot of the feedback I received was that while local sport was an area of interest, a blog or forum was not seen as a viable or engaging way to feature this type of content. Looking to other ways to present this, I realised that by running a podcast I could use and develop interviewing skills I have as an aspiring journalist, and combine that with my passion for sports. I had never done any podcasting or sound recording, but in speaking to a friend who has he advised me that Anchor.fm was a perfect platform to upload to, as it is quick and easy to use, and allows you to upload to Spotify and Apple Music for free. After a brief attempt at graphic design, I was able to receive the help of a fellow 114 student to create a logo, and registered a ‘Locals Only’ podcast account on Anchor.fm.
Initial attempt at logo 
Final logo design
Anchor.fm site for ‘Locals Only’
Whilst setting this up, I also created a Twitter account for the podcast to build interest, and also to interact with my audience. This includes general promotion of the podcast, news and accomplishments of the athletes, and gathering questions as part of the ‘questions from the audience’ feature. Additionally, a Twitter account gave me the ability to produce some quick content and build a following whilst producing the podcast episodes. This incorporates the F.I.S.T theory, as the twitter content has proved a quick and effective way to build interest in my podcast, before publishing an episode.
Recording the episodes has proved to be more challenging, with F.E.F.O definitely coming into the equation. My first attempt at episode one felt successful, until I learnt that the recorder I had used was corrupted and that the recording had not saved. However, a positive I took from this is that I am able to reflect on how I interviewed the first time and tweak this to create a better all around product. Additionally, it has taught me the lesson of double and triple checking sound equipment before recording.
The aim is to produce ten episodes, and I already have six guests lined up. I came across these guests through both word of mouth and research into successful Illawarra athletes. Guests already lined up include a professional soccer player, professional basketballer, ex-professional WAFL player, an Australian representative Equestrian rider, an Australian representative hockey player and an Australian champion surfer. I hope by covering a wide array of sports and disciplines, it will both engage a wider audience and truly represent the Illawarra sporting community, which has a broad and deep sporting community.
The eventual aim of ‘Locals Only’ is to be a premiere Illawarra sports voice, that covers and features the world’s best athlete, from right in our backyard. Looking to the future, I am focusing on improving my podcasting quality, both through improved equipment and technique. I would also like to expand the podcast to talk to coaches and other personalities in local sports, and take suggestions from the audience for different segments and formats. Looking at podcasts such as ‘The Woj Pod’ and Cole Cuchna’s ‘Dissect’, I hope to make a relevant and engaging podcast that can be enjoyed by anyone.
20Three 
Hi Jed, I have been following your DA for a while and I am loving the direction that it is developing towards.
I am a local to the Illawarra area and I believe you are correct in noting that interest in local sport is on the rise. Whilst I know a lot about the bigger stars, for example those that are a part of the Illawarra Hawks, I know very little about sports people on the rise who I can look to support. I strongly agree with your statement that content such as blog posts is not accessible to the modern audience and I’m glad that you have branched out into podcasts. I myself listen to a wide variety of podcasts on my 30 minute journey to uni each day and I enjoy that you can focus on some other remedial task whilst learning something from someone more knowledgeable.
I have thought of a few key things I like about the podcasts I listen to and perhaps you could introduce some of these into your own work. Tiny Meat Gang (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4sf8XtH_uXnwNP699luQVQ) is a fast paced podcast that uses humour to engage with its audience, they have also made access to their work easy, being available on all the major streaming services. The H3 Podcast (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLtREJY21xRfCuEKvdki1Kw) makes use of other forms of multimedia (images, videos, sound clips, etc.) and they allow their guests to view the multimedia and react to it. On the Ledge (https://www.janeperrone.com/on-the-ledge) often has interviews which have been recorded when the individuals involved are not in the same country. To do this the host asks her guests to record their answers on voice memos and then she adds the recording of her asking the questions later. This might be helpful for you if it is difficult to find a time to meet sportspeople to interview, or if they are quite a distance from you.
Part of my DA involves producing video content and I can appreciate the difficulties involved with producing content and issues with technology. Although I am not a great advocate for this, as I have not yet posted any videos, I suggest we both follow the advice of FEFO and get posting even if the overall quality isn’t up to standard.
I’m excited to see where you go with this project. Good luck.
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