It’s time to Discover Seward County.
Sweet Tea Marketing and the Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership are rolling out a new podcast this week focused on Seward County and what’s happening within its borders.
The project was originally proposed over the winter, podcast director/producer Kaitlyn Dallmann said. It really took off in May when all the equipment and furnishings arrived and content planning began in earnest.
“It’s been a hard and fast push to get through launch,” Dallmann said.
The release on Friday, June 20, will include two episodes, Dallmann said. The third episode will come out the following week, with the fourth episode, due to be released July 11, to feature the Fourth of July.
“We will be live on the Fourth,” Dallmann said, adding that the crew will film parts of the day.
After that, a new podcast will be released every other week, posting on Fridays. An every-other-week schedule allows time to gather content, coordinate with the hosts and guests and produce the episode.
Each episode will be about an hour long and feature two main segments. The first few will feature a theme, as well.
Episode one is foundations, with introductions of the hosts and a segment on the history of Seward County. Episode two features a “battle of the brews” coffee comparison and a segment about the World’s Largest Time Capsule.
Episode three looks at Seward’s identity related to the Fourth of July.
The podcast is hosted by Josh Rausch, a relative newcomer to Seward.
“He has been a great addition to the team,” Dallmann said.
The host needs to be quick on their feet and have an inquiring mind, she said. Rausch also brings a sense of humor to help balance the segments.
DSC will have two regular contributors, as well – Pat Coldiron and JJ Metschke. Coldiron brings a wide knowledge of Seward and the county.
“She is funny and a good communicator. She has a great presence,” Dallmann said.
Metschke is a Seward High graduate and lifelong Seward resident.
“He brought so much editing and production skills in addition to his talent on-screen,” Dallmann said.”
Metschke will be part of the social media end of the podcast, as well, and has begun helping plan future episodes.
The three bring different backgrounds and are from different generations, which appeals to different listeners, Dallmann said.
Everything is happening for the first time, which adds some challenges, Dallmann said. Most of the crew has minimal experience with podcasts and is learning as they go.
Dallmann watched a variety of community podcasts to get ideas and said STM wanted to bring a high level of professionalism to Discover Seward County. To that end, the crew created a full studio, complete with lights and cameras, to house the podcast cast.
“That will be a benefit,” she said.
The goal is to draw listeners and viewers, not just from Seward County, but from all over, she said.
Dallmann said they already have a long list of episode topics. Anyone with an idea can post in the comments on social media or YouTube or can call the office at (402) 643-3678.
So far, Dallmann said, creating the podcast has been fun.
“I always wanted to do something like this,” she said.
It’s not easy to produce a podcast like Discover Seward County. To begin with, the crew needed audio equipment – microphones, a mixer, headphones to monitor the sound, a room in which to record and over 200 sound panels.
Add in the video, which meant three cameras (two for up close shots and one for the wide angle) and associated memory cards and tripods, furnishings and accessories for the studio and studio lights.
In addition, the podcast team can go mobile, which means lapel mics and mobile camera equipment.
Corporate ($500 to $15,000) and individual ($150) sponsorships are available for the podcast, Dallmann said. More information is available at discoversewardcounty.com or call Dallmann at the office.
“I think there’s a growing need for diverse news sources to get community information to communities,” Dallmann said. “The landscape is changing. This is a step in the right direction to meet the growing need for short-form content, as well as long-form.”
The goal is to be an accessible, additional source of news, she said.
While the podcast is based out of the Seward County Independent and Sweet Tea Media offices in Seward, it is not part of the newspaper.
