It’s been said that podcasts are the future of radio. Perhaps it’s ironic, then, that when asked for their favourite local podcasts, Uniter readers overwhelmingly chose campus radio shows. Of the five podcasts to tie for the top three spots, all but one (Bury the Lede) are linked to local campus radio stations.

A few months after starting the Witchpolice Radio podcast in 2012, co-hosts Sam Thompson and Rob Crooks were contacted by UMFM station manager Jared McKetiak, who offered to rebroadcast their show. The podcast still hits UMFM airwaves every Sunday night.

“I think it’s leant some legitimacy to the show,” Thompson says of the UMFM partnership. “(T)he fact that it was also airing on UMFM rather than just being some basement podcast made it seem like, ‘This is a real thing.’”

One of the benefits of podcasts is that producers aren’t beholden to creative restraints like limited running times or ad breaks. Thompson says that airing on the radio hasn’t affected their creative process.

“(The station edits) everything on their end,” he says. “If listeners don’t hear the whole thing on the radio, it’s always available online.”

Multimedia approaches expand beyond podcasting. Ashley Bieniarz’s The Winnipeg Music Project started out as a blog.

“I contacted campus radio stations to see if they’d help me promote the project,” Bieniarz says. “Jared from UMFM responded and asked if I’d want to do a regular show rather than a one-time ad.”

Multimedia availability makes accessing shows easier than ever.

“I made (Winnipeg Music Project) available on iTunes and Google Play,” Bieniarz says, “so if going to the website’s a hassle, people can find it on (platforms) they’re already using. Also, UMFM’s Instagram is full of behind-the-scenes (content).”

Published in Volume 72, Number 12 of The Uniter (November 30, 2017)