This one’s short because we all got COVID

We publish Vocal Fridays every week, straight to your inbox.

Subscribe below to get it straight outta the frying pan!

Our time has come. Our number’s been called. COVID has come for Vocal Fry.

Despite the fact that we are a fully remote team — and living across completely different time zones — three of us are down for the count this week, including two of the three people who work on this very newsletter. We hope you’ll forgive us for keeping this one short and sweet. 

While I mainline hot water with ginger, lemon, and honey (very soothing and hydrating!), here’s what we’ve been reading/keeping an eye on this week: 

Don’t forget to apply for the Sound Documentary International Summer Program. Applications are due March 31!

One of my favourite shows, On Being, is leaving public radio at the end of June to go independent. They’re transitioning from a weekly show to releasing podcasts seasonally, starting in October.

Apple Podcasts is going to start providing follower metrics in April (finally!!!!!)

Eric Nuzum’s newsletter, The Audio Insurgent, where he writes about five things no one tells you when you leave public radio for podcasting.

EarBuds Podcast Collective is joining PodNews.

Matt Hirt’s blog about putting the “podcast” first in “branded podcast” for Signal Hill Insights.

Ugh. A little over a year after Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti shut down HuffPost Canada/Quebec and laid off a ton of HuffPost US staffers, there’s been talk all week about voluntary buyouts and layoffs at Buzzfeed News. Full disclosure: I used to work at HuffPost Canada, but my contract ended a few months before they were sold to Buzzfeed. This piece in Defector does a good job of laying out what’s happened so far and how the union is responding.

A very cool job for someone who maybe has more marketing agency experience than podcast experience — JAR Audio is hiring a project lead for a part-time role. It’s fully remote and has a salary range of $60,000-$70,000. 

Spotify is hiring a permanent, remote associate fact checker for Parcast Studios. 

Bell Media is hiring contractors for a whole bunch of different roles, including social media hosts/creators, podcast producers, writers, bloggers, and graphic animators. Compensation is vague, as they say, “Duration, scope and payment terms will be negotiated on a project-by-project basis.” When figuring out your rate for a project, don’t forget that jobs like this don’t come with benefits and they save on overhead etc. etc. etc. so make sure you factor those kinds of things into your quote!

CBC Edmonton is hiring a permanent, full-time afternoon assignment producer. Apply by EOD April 14.

CBC Life is hiring a full-time, contract social media editor. Apply by EOD March 29.

Warm up your vocal cords! CBC News is hiring a permanent, part-time weekend news editor presenter for The World This Hour. Apply by EOD March 30.

CBC Ottawa News at 6 is hiring a full-time, contract host for their supper hour program. Apply by EOD April 14.

The Globe and Mail is hiring a producer for its daily news podcast, The Decibel. I do a lot of work with this top-notch team as a freelancer, and will shout from the rooftops how wonderful they are to work with!

In non-podcast jobs, the Globe and Mail is also hiring a reporter for their Ottawa bureau for a 12-month contract.

An internship that pays a living wage and comes with the opportunity for freelance or full-time work after? Yes please! Cossette is hiring interns for a 12-week creative advertising internship program for Black and/or Indigenous high school or post-secondary grads. It runs from June 8 to August 31 and pays $1,875 bi-weekly. They’re hiring five people in Toronto and one in Vancouver. Apply by April 8. FYI: we produce a podcast for we produce a podcast for Cossette called Think Beyond!

I gasped when I saw that CBC Edmonton has a paid summer internship program — aside from the Joan Donaldson Scholarship, I thought all CBC internships were unpaid. But CBC Edmonton pays $18/hour! And in Edmonton, that is more or less a living wage! The program runs from June 6 to September 2 and you have until EOD April 8 to apply.

Internships that pay a living wage? For summer? Groundbreaking.

(But actually!)

Wudan Yan and Jenni Gritters of The Writer’s Co-op are hosting a panel all about how to break into content strategy on Tuesday, March 29 from 5-6 PM EDT. Tickets are $35. 

You know the dog on Big Mouth, who has a really loud bark, and then his bark quiets and he reveals a deep emotional truth? That is what my COVID cough sounds like.

I will admit, it’s a little challenging to listen to much of anything at the moment.

I don’t particularly feel like listening to news or analysis right now, nor do I have the patience for deep, thoughtful conversations. But an engrossing story with sound design? Yes, please!

I finally started listening to The Truth, and it seems I am late to the party, because it’s been around for 10 years. And for good reason — these are gripping, well-crafted stories written for an audio format, and the sound design makes for an immersive experience. Most episodes are about half an hour, perfect for your stupid mental health walk (or, in my case, pacing around the yard). 

I don’t particularly feel like listening to news or analysis right now, nor do I have the patience for deep, thoughtful conversations. But an engrossing story with sound design? Yes, please!

Wider Lens is BACK with an exciting new episode and a snazzy new website. In Episode 5, host Annie Bradley talks to three of the people who brought Guillermo del Toro’s new film Nightmare Alley to life: producer J. Miles Dale, production designer Tamara Deverell, and costume designer Luis Sequeira. The twist? All three are nominated for Oscars at this year’s Academy Awards. We’re rooting for you!

This week on Building Good, Matt Grace talks about how energy modeling is becoming a crucial element to building net-zero projects.

We want to hear from you! What are you looking for in your podcast news? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram, or by email at info@vocalfrystudios.com. Thanks to Emily Latimer for editing this newsletter, and to Katie Jensen for designing it.

We’ll see you again on April 1. Until then, here’s an update from the squirrel outside Katie’s window.

Related Posts