As of this month, Current is ceasing production and distribution of The Pub, our podcast for people in public media. We are sorry to disappoint loyal listeners who appreciated frank talk about our system, but we’ve finally faced up to the fact that The Pub is not sustainable.
Launched in January 2015, The Pub grew in popularity and listenership because of its independent voice, clever production values, and provocative conversations about all things pubmedia. Founder Adam Ragusea was a fearless host, excellent journalist, production wizard and loveable loudmouth. He fundraised for Current with passion, sincerity and creativity, and Current owes a huge debt of gratitude to Adam for his loyalty and labor of love.
And we appreciate the contributions of our new host, Annie Russell, over the past six months as she reinvented the show. Listeners have also benefited from Gabe Bullard’s fine work as a guest host. Though production will end, you’ll still be able to hear all of our previous episodes on SoundCloud.
Though it drew loyal fans, we were unable to attract enough underwriting support to cover more than a quarter of The Pub’s costs. We want to thank those who did step up to underwrite The Pub: New Hampshire Public Radio, Fordham University’s Masters of Arts in Public Media, Podcast Movement, KCPT, JJ Yore and Andi McDaniel of WAMU, and Shane Guiter of Public Media Works.
And we want to thank those of you who donated to Current over our various fundraising campaigns because you wanted to register your support for The Pub. We hope you will give to Current this fall when we once raise funds to be doubled in the Institute for Nonprofit News’ NewsMatch.
Finally, please don’t conclude that Current is getting out of podcasting entirely. We may produce other podcasts in the future if we are able to secure committed funding. We welcome your ideas and proposals and have our eyes and ears open to new talent in our system. We are always looking for new ways to engage you in the conversation about the future of public media.
PLEASE LET ME DO THE PODCAST. I can do it for free. Just give me twelve dollars a month for the Soundcloud Premium, someone with a lot of connections in the industry to book guests on the show – because I have little connections myself – and host it on your website.
I offer this gladly. But you’d better let me know before January, because I might be going onto active duty.