A group of Keene State University students is starting a daily local news podcast.
Produced by the university's School of Journalism, Keenecast is available weekdays at 4 a.m. on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Each five-minute episode features local headlines, sports, weather and events from the Monadnock area.
This podcast is a collaboration with the Keene Sentinel, a daily newspaper in the area.
“The goal is to give listeners instant access to big news from their communities,” said Jason Beaubien, a faculty advisor who is overseeing the project. “As media changes, this is an opportunity to reach a younger audience. Podcasting is booming, but most news podcasts focus on national or international issues.
KeenCast, he says, is an attempt to “connect listeners with what's happening in their immediate surroundings.”
Before coming to Keene State University, Beaubien was a longtime reporter for National Public Radio.
Four students, Tim Bruns, Ashley Chandler, Nicole Dumont and Ryan Goodwin, meet each night at 6pm in the Media Arts Center to write the next day's episode.
By 7 p.m., your script will be sent to the Sentinel's editors, who will review it for accuracy. Many of the articles rely on original reporting from the Sentinel or the Equinox, Keene State University's student newspaper.
Students will take turns hosting daily episodes in a new podcasting studio located in the university's Media Arts Center.
Lucas Pahiara, a freshman music major, wrote and performed the theme music for the podcast.
“I think this is a great opportunity to teach the basics of podcasting,” Beaubien says. “But it's also about finding new ways to bring local news to local news audiences. We hope this makes people feel more connected to their community.”
Listeners can find the podcast through Sentinel's website or by simply telling their smartphone or smart device to “play the latest episode of Keenecast.”
