Journalism.co.uk Editors' Blog » Matt Wells

#FollowJourn: @matthewwells/head of audio

Laura Oliver — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:06:23 +0000

#FollowJourn: Matt Wells

Who? Head of audio for the Guardian.

What? Former MediaGuardian editor, still presents its media podcast.

Where? On the Mediatalk podcast and contributions to Guardian.co.uk.

Just as we like to supply you with fresh and innovative tips every day, we’re recommending journalists to follow online too. They might be from any sector of the industry: please send suggestions (you can nominate yourself) to judith or laura [at] journalism.co.uk; or to @journalismnews.

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Audio additions at Guardian.co.uk – The Business / video features for football podcast

Judith Townend — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:04:52 +0000

More audio content is planned for Guardian.co.uk: this week saw the launch of The Business, a weekly finance and economics podcast. Next to follow will be regular video features off the back of the weekly football podcast, the Guardian’s head of audio, Matt Wells, told Journalism.co.uk.

Jeff Jarvis’ monthly Media Talk USA launched last week: “The idea was this: all the major developments in global media, from digital innovations like Google and YouTube, to the crisis in print journalism, started in the US before spreading here. It makes sense to chronicle those developments in the same fashion as we follow the UK media scene with Media Talk,” Matt Wells told Journalism.co.uk.

Media Talk has recently been nominated for best internet programme in the Sony radio awards, he added.

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Guardian seeks independent producer for football podcast

Laura Oliver — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:06:21 +0000

The Guardian is searching for a new independent producer for its Football Weekly podcast.

According to an announcement via the Radio Academy, the application process for producing Football Weekly and Football Weekly Extra for the 2008/9 season is now open.

“After two really successful seasons working with production companies that shared the Guardian.co.uk vision and helped establish the programmes as the UK’s leading football podcast brand, we’re looking to build on the great work already done. We want to increase the reach and profile of the shows, and continue to be the net’s number one destination for football podcasts,” said Matt Wells, the Guardian’s head of audio, in the statement.

In January Wells told an industry gathering that the podcast was downloaded 80-100,000 times a week.

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MediaGuardian Radio Reborn 2008: Guardian readies ads for podcasts

Laura Oliver — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:28:42 +0000

The Guardian will soon introduce ad spots to its podcasts ~~in the next few weeks~~, the title’s head of audio told an industry conference today.

Matt Wells, who announced the plans in January, said a range of bluechip advertisers were interested in the spots, though he did not elaborate on which podcasts would be the first to feature the advertising.

The argument for introducing podcast ads had been significantly boosted by the success of the Guardian’s advertising within its video content, Wells added.

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MediaGuardian Radio Reborn 2008: What’s the future for Channel 4’s digital radio?

Laura Oliver — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:40:06 +0000

The future of Channel 4’s digital radio prospect was on the table at today’s Radio Reborn conference, prompting some cagey answers from Natalie Schwarz, chair of the 4 Digital group over their ongoing discussions with Ofcom.

In the clip below Matt Wells, head of audio at the Guardian, challenges Schwarz’s comments:

Speaking from the audience, Ofcom’s director of radio and multimedia Peter Davies did concede that Channel 4 had not asked for an extension to the launch date of Channel 4 Digital.

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Press Gazette: New Guardian morning news podcast to take on BBC

Laura Oliver — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Matt Wells, head of audio at the Guardian, says the new morning news podcast will offer listeners an alternative to the BBC, which currently dominates the breakfast market.

Last month Wells criticised the BBC’s own podcasts for attracting ‘unimpressive’ audience figures.

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The future of podcasting

Laura Oliver — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 15:57:08 +0000

Last night’s Radio Academy event on the future of podcasting proved a lively affair with criticism from Matt Wells, head of audio at Guardian Unlimited, of the BBC’s podcasting strategy and debate over podcasting’s relationship with radio.

The latter produced the following exchange between Trevor Dann, director of the Radio Academy and first speaker in the clip, and Wells.

But as fellow panellist Nathalie Schwarz, director of radio at Channel 4, went on to point out: it doesn’t matter – the generation that are going be most in tune with podcasting won’t care what it’s called – adding weight to Wells’ suggestion that calling it radio is a hang-up of the traditional media.

Schwarz also levelled Wells’ views on the BBC’s podcast service: how you define success in podcasting, she suggested, should be related to what you are trying to achieve.

“The brave new world isn’t just about big numbers and mass reach – I think that’s the old style world of looking at RAJAR as a almost a trading currency to get commercial revenue.”

The entire evening’s discussion can be listened to courtesy of the Radio Academy’s website.

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