A bite-sized morning news and information podcast for kids: fun, informative and thought-provoking, but leaving out scary stuff.

I'm a journalist turned corporate communications consultant so I've been working in video/audio production for a long time, and over the years I've created a bunch of YouTube channels and podcasts for fun. I'm also a dad of two young kids. This podcast - news and information for kids - lets me apply my skills to something that (hopefully) my kids, and other kids, will enjoy and get some value from. When I produce an episode I have kids in grades 3-8 in mind.
 

We habitually turn on the news when getting ready in the morning. Invariably there is something that I feel is a bit too much for my kids (ages 5 & 8) to have to learn about first thing in the morning. One day my wife - who has great ideas - said: "You need to do a newscast for THEM." And a podcast was born. I think I produced my first episodes within a week or two of my wife suggesting it.

I wanted to create something that didn't speak down to kids or get campy. I wanted the news part to be solid, but delivered at a kid-friendly level. The first week - in December - was probably newsier, and then I took a break for the holidays and new year while I assessed what worked and what didn't. My wife (again) suggested picking up the pace and adding music, which helped a lot.
 

Finding time has been very difficult. Each episode takes at least 4 hours from start to finish, usually longer. I began doing it 5 days a week and by early February I was burned out. I announced that I'd be taking a break (it was going to be a school holiday anyway) and I immediately got a very nice email from a listener who tuned in every day with her daughter. That gave me a lot of motivation. I decided to cut back to 3x/week and I had a new episode posted the next week. So I didn't take the break but I backed off just enough to keep it manageable. It's still tough though. Lots of late nights. I fund it myself right now but sponsorships are starting to trickle in, which chip away at - but don't yet come close to covering - my production expenses.
 

My first sponsor was the woman who wrote the email; she asked how she could contribute, which I was kind of on the fence about, and my wife (again) said: "You have to let people help you." At that point I had about 500 DLs a month. I ask people to consider sponsoring in most episodes.

I'm a news junkie and this is an excuse to read a lot, and to look for good/upbeat stories. My kids enjoy it, which is kind of the whole reason I started it, so that's very gratifying. Hearing from listeners about other kids who enjoy it and get something from it is really amazing.
 

I spend a lot of time combing through websites looking for stories, which I then write into a script in a template I created. I also have an "Ideas" doc that I've shared with a few people, and when they come across a story they think would be good for me they drop it in.

Researching & writing takes at least two hours, usually more like four.

I record on a Rode NT-1 mic in an Auray mic-mounted isolation screen. The mic is patched through a CAD CX-2 converter and into my PC. I'm familiar with Adobe Premiere Pro from video work, so that's what I record into and edit on. I read the script off my Mac while I'm recording.

For music and SFX I have a subscription to Motion Array. Then I export and upload to Buzzsprout. The editing process usually takes about 4 hours.

I've only had one guest so far - just last week - who was interviewed by a journalist friend. She shared the files with me on Dropbox and I edited the interview. I'm planning more interviews in the future.

I know video would be a good idea but I'm not a great host - I pause, I make mistakes, I clear my throat - and I edit my voiceover pretty heavily. It wouldn't work for video.
 

70% of my traffic comes from iOS; once I got listed on Apple things started to build. About two-thirds of my audience is in the US; a big chunk of the other third has been in South Korea for some reason. That segment is starting to decline with more countries coming into the mix. particularly Japan, Taiwan and Canada.

I don't really do any marketing. I have several social channels but the only one I get any interaction on is X/Twitter, so I spend most of my social time there.
 

I'd say: just go for it. My experience launching a bunch of different channels over the years is that if your content appeals to people, they'll cut you a lot of slack. And the best way to learn how to produce content is to produce it. You'll learn some hard lessons along the way but you'll keep getting better.

I haven't found any particular podcasting resource that I rely on, though I read a lot of different things online.
 

Podcast website & support link: kmnn.buzzsprout.com
Business website: www.mediashopproductions.com