It’s my turn this week to submit the Intern Notebook entry and I am happy to share my progress over the last month. There have been many different tasks assigned to me and my fellow interns over the last few weeks. I feel more comfortable in my role and am learning every single day. However, I am particularly excited about one opportunity that I am eager to share with you all.
How Radio Experience Helped with Podcasting
As Gabby mentioned in her blog post last week, DSG has given us the amazing opportunity to start the first ever podcast for the company. DSG’s podcast is called CareerTracks. It highlights people in the Marketing industry and tracks how their careers got started and the journey to their current position.
I have plenty of on-air experience with West Chester Radio, but podcasting actually is a little different. On my two hour radio show, I typically talk sports with friends, create different fun segments and play music. I introduce songs, read the weather forecast, public service announcements and market campus events.
For CareerTracks, the format is more conversational with Gabby, and also more preparation is needed for an interview. The trick to a good interview is listening to your interviewee. Do not just ask the questions you prepared but be ready to have follow-ups. I try to learn from other podcasters, like John Clark from NBC10 or Jack Fritz from 94.1 WIP. I also take in what I can from talk show hosts like Jimmy Fallon and James Corden.
I was beyond excited to get things started for CareerTracks. Even with hours of experience on the radio, I was a little nervous about this. My biggest critics for my radio show are my parents and my roommate and what do you expect them to say other than “nice show today!” My critics for this podcast are my managers which is a different kind of pressure.
Fortunately, once we hit record and got things rolling, it was like “riding a bike behind the mic.” The first episode actually flowed pretty well although there is always something that could be better. We had a post-production meeting with the DSG managers and received some very constructive suggestions. I truly welcome those comments to learn and grow to become a better on-air personality.
Key Learnings
Like I said, listening is key to a good interview, but you also want to listen as an intern because of the guidance and advice you might hear. This is not just an opportunity to improve my on-air experience. It is a chance to take in the knowledge that other marketing professionals learned when they were in our shoes.
I am also responsible for post-production to clean up and finish the episode. There is a lot more to a podcast than two people behind a microphone. Adjusting audio and syncing visuals is not as easy as it sounds, but from my education at West Chester and the guidance of my managers at DSG, I am up for the challenge and learning new skills. Stay tuned for the drop date of the inaugural episode of CareerTracks and give a listen! I am looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks!
