Albany Herald podcast allows southwest Georgians to 'listen' to newspaper

Carlton Fletcher, The Albany Herald, Ga.
·2 min read

Mar. 27—ALBANY — Jeremy Powell has spent most of his business career working in radio. As that might indicate, Powell has a way with words.

The director of content production and programming for BG AdGroup, asked to sum up the company's partnership with The Albany Herald and Southern Community Newspapers Inc. to provide a podcast based on news in the publication, said, "We'll give people the opportunity to 'listen' to the newspaper."

Starting April 1, Marietta-based BG AdGroup will produce podcasts three days a week utilizing content in The Albany Herald.

"BG Podcast Network, a subsidiary of BG AdGroup, has agreed to team up with Southern Community Newspapers to create the first hyper-local audible news source for information in southwest Georgia: 'The Albany Herald Podcast,'" BG AdGroup founder and CEO Darien Southerland said. "Our team is super-excited to work with one of the Southeast's premier news organizations.

"We know this podcast/audible news program will enhance and increase the paper's popularity, brand, digital and social media elements and, most importantly, provide southwest Georgia citizens an audible news source that tells the region's news quickly and up to date."

Powell, who has worked in radio in Atlanta, Minnesota and other markets for more than 25 years, said the podcasts will allow today's mobile society to "listen to stories on the go."

"The big thing is, people who listen to the podcast will be getting the stories from a trusted source, their hometown newspaper," he said. "I think that's the appeal: to hear uber-local stuff quickly in an up-to-date podcast. We'll do regular podcasts on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, but one of the beauties of the podcast is that the medium is on-demand. We can give quick updates immediately."

BG Podcast Network currently produces The Marietta Daily Journal Podcast, the Cobb Life Podcast, the Gwinnett Daily Post Podcast, and podcasts for the Cherokee Ledger, the North Fulton Neighbor and other companies, faith-based and municipal organizations in the Southeast and Midwestern United States. Some of the company's programs have exceeded 200,000 downloads.

Powell said the The Albany Herald Podcast will be available in "all platforms."

"Once it's downloaded, there will be an embedded player on the Herald's website at albanyherald.com," he said. "People can use the link to subscribe (to the podcast). The goal is to provide a trusted news source for people on the go and to help The Albany Herald get another revenue stream."

For more information about the podcast, contact Southerland at (770) 874-3200 or email d.southerland@bgadgroup.com. Powell is available at j.powell@bgadgroup.com.