CPN features stories on arts and culture, interviews with newsmakers, lectures and public forums, theater previews and more. We also podcast radio programs such as WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now with Coy Barefoot and WNRN’s Sunday Morning Wake-Up Call, as well as government meetings from Charlottesville Tomorrow.
The Charlottesville Podcasting Network is a local media outlet that presents audio of radio shows, lectures, and original features to the Central Virginia community and beyond. Through a combination of original productions and partnerships with local organizations, CPN has provided thousands of hours of audio programming since launching in April 2005.
The site is a presentation of Wordcast Productions. Award-winning radio producer Sean Tubbs started the company in February 2005 to help businesses, individuals and non-profit organizations develop podcasts best suited to help build better connections to their core audience.
There are many ways to access the site.
First, you can just visit us every day to check for new content. We post about 10 podcasts each week, so keep coming back. We’re often experimenting with our web design, but there’s always the classic view to make sure you don’t miss anything.
Second, subscribe to our RSS feed and read it using something like Google Reader or Bloglines. If you need help with RSS, read Waldo Jaquith’s excellent “RSS for Total Newbies.”
There’s always the iTunes feed, which is perhaps the most elegant way to get our shows onto your iPod.
Finally, why not subscribe to the e-mail list? Once a day you’ll get a notification of what we’ve posted.
Join the Revolution!
We’re looking for volunteers who are interested in learning the ins and outs of audio recording. Here are some sample tasks that we could use some help with.
Marketing: We produce a lot of great stuff, and we need your help in letting others know about it.
Production: There’s a lot of stuff backing up in the production queue, and there’s always something that needs to be worked on. You can help us edit and post editions of “WINA’s Charlottesville–Right Now!”as well as lectures and speeches.
Editorial: Sometimes we post podcasts so fast we make writing mistakes that just look silly. Help us look a little less silly by volunteering to edit our copy once it’s been posted.
Recording: After going through a training period, CPN Volunteers have access to professional recording equipment. We need people to go out and record events, and would even love to train you to write a news article. Video is coming soon.
Contact Sean Tubbs at seantubbs@gmail.com if you would like more information.
“For me, podcasting is an evolution from broadcasting,” Tubbs said. “Broadcasting is an agricultural term originally, meant to describe the mass throwing out of seeds, hoping some of them will grow into plants. Podcasting is more about the seeds being thrown into the waiting soil of those who want them.”
“Podcasting is a transition medium, meaning, it’s a temporary thing that will continue to change as the Web matures into something a bit more manageable,” Tubbs wrote to a journalist in 2006.
“I’ve entered into this stuff because I want to create great programming, original programming, and podcasting offers me a chance to take risks I can’t take in actual radio. My aim is to use podcasting as a way to drive grass roots attention back to the foundations of why public radio was founded in the first place.”