RISON - The Cleveland County Herald is expanding into a new media platform next week with the launch of its first podcast, Free Range Conversations, publisher Britt Talent has announced.
The podcast will feature in-depth conversations covering a wide range of local topics and guests. Talent will serve as a co-host on the podcast along with Rison's own Roy Phillips, dubbed "Man About Town," and Douglas Boultinghouse, who will handle production on the podcast.
"We were looking for ways to expand into the digital marketplace, and a podcast is one of the ideas we came up with," said Talent. "It's going to be a lot of fun, and listeners will be able to access it through the usual places they get their podcasts." Talent said they spent some time thinking about a name for the (continued from page 1) podcast before coming up with Free Range Conversations.
“We think it accurately describes the direction we want to go,” he said. “Just like free range chickens are free to go where they want, this podcast will have the freedom to go wherever the conversation leads.
“We let our guests lead the direction of the conversation, which sometimes brings up new conversations,” Talent said.
The first episode of the podcast, an introduction and welcome from the hosts, will be available to stream Wednesday, July 3. New episodes are expected to be released weekly.
Among the podcasts scheduled to be released soon is one with Cleveland County Justice of the Peace Pat Keegan, who has floated the entire 200-plus mile length of the Saline River, and Les Walz, the former Cleveland County Cooperative Extension Service agent who also competes in obstacle course and endurance events across the country.
Listeners will be able to access Free Range Conversations through streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and others. Episodes will also be available to stream on the Herald’s website at ClevelandCountyHerald.com