I encourage you to share what you know, however small, and to do what you can, where you are, as well. If you can’t attend, the session will be recorded and available in perpetuity. This event is my small contribution to closing the knowledge gap, and to demystifying the things that white, cis, straight men have historically had the easiest access to. Workshops on a wide variety of industry standard programs and practices, using platforms that are free and accessible to all, and ready access to mentorship where questions can be addressed - that’s the other half of how we create a more diverse podcasting community. I believe that seeing oneself represented can encourage potential podcasters to start shows that have lasting impact in the industry. This event isn’t the first, or the last, of our efforts to collaborate and share resources with podcasters from underrepresented communities. With support from Acast, and a shared interest in diversifying this industry, Aclass: Pro Tools First was born. I started to notice trainings popping up for other audio platforms, like the one Brendan Baker ran for Reaper, and figured it was time to do what I can, with what I have, where I am. I have a lot of experience with Pro Tools from my time as a producer. So, when I read an article in The Verge about “Pro Tools proficiency” being a gatekeeping tactic in this industry, I knew I had something to offer. That piece of tape planted a seed in my mind. In his warm, southern drawl, he recited the Theodore Roosevelt quote: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” While sorting tape, I heard a clip of an older man recalling the Civil Rights Movement. While producing at Macmillan Podcasts, I worked on a project that later became the stellar Driving the Green Book (shoutout to that entire team). It wasn’t until around 2019 when something shifted for me. I used to think that, because I was a low-level employee, without hiring power, I couldn’t make a difference. It took me a long time to recognize that. It’s a reflection of my privilege that I now get to call myself a podcast “expert” when I talk to my partners - and that privilege exists regardless of title or position. I’ve also been lucky to have worked almost exclusively on teams of all women, and every boss in my career has been a woman. I recognize that a huge contributor to my career in podcasting is my whiteness, my access to college, and my access to financial support that allowed me to take low-paying internships and jobs. I have good connections who trusted me, even when I didn’t always have the concrete experience to back it up. I have a film degree, but was able to learn Pro Tools from a college professor in a class on Automated Dialogue Replacement (in other words, dubbing audio). I was hired for an internship at a small podcast network in college, at a time when I wasn’t sure what a podcast even was. When talking about my path in podcasting, I often say how I fell into this industry - and, indeed, how lucky I was. It’s not lost on me that many of the resources that have often been implied in my career journey are optional (at best) for many others. Those who were “lucky” enough to go to the right college, find the right mentor, and land the right internship, often in the public radio space.Īnd that’s coming from me, a cisgender white woman. Having worked on all sides of this industry - at an ad agency, in show development and production, and now in podcast strategy at Acast - I’ve seen how the power dynamics of privilege and systemic oppression create a culture where lack of visibility and sensitivity towards diverse people in the workplace runs rampant.įor years, the pipeline into the podcasting industry was a straight line - but only for those with the right access and the right resources. Saying that “podcasting has a diversity problem” isn’t exactly a novel idea.
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