When was The MindaNews Podcast established and what was the inspiration behind it?
The MindaNews Podcast was conceived both as a reaction to the pandemic and as a result of years of desire to hear and share the stories of all facets of Mindanao. The primary rationale behind MindaNews has always been to tell the stories of Mindanao from the lens of Mindanao.

What do you discuss and cover in this podcast?
During the pandemic, online tools such as Anchor made it possible for us to share our stories as an organisation through audio versions of pandemic-era webinars. Throughout the years, we have produced a few episodes ranging from issues in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Philippine Constitution, the environment, as well as various facets of Mindanao culture such as emerging arts and artists, and more recently, music and film. We intend to expand this to more topics in the near future as we are seeing the potential of audio storytelling as a part of our lineup of content for MindaNews.

Who makes up the audience of the podcast?
We have found that our audience comes from all over the world. This was surprising for us, as we are seeing that our top audiences, aside from those that come from the Philippines, come from the United States, Germany, Japan, Australia, and Singapore, among other countries. Most of our audience are listeners who listen to the podcast embeds in our stories, while the rest listen to podcast apps such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

In terms of audience, most of our listeners come from Mindanao, with a substantial number of listeners coming from other places like Metro Manila and Eastern Visayas. We’re excited to find that our largest podcast listenership comes from Metro Manila, which spells out an underrated link between the stories that we want to tell and a listenership eager to seek them out.

We’re also finding out that a majority of our listeners are Mac users, followed by Windows and Android users.

Walk us through the process of producing MindaNews Podcast episodes. 
To be honest, this platform is new to us. None of us have had podcast production experience before, and even during its infancy, the MindaNews Podcast was and still is growing into its role as a potent source of Mindanao stories. When it first started out, the idea of podcasts for us were audio versions of existing webinars. Throughout the years, we have been beginning to embrace, as an organisation, the various formats in which stories can be told.

In the case of the interview podcasts that we’ve come up with so far, this was borne out of a shared passion for topics such as emerging artists and arts, in partnership with equally passionate production houses such as Davao-based Holodeck Productions and Timewrap Films. It’s mostly a passion project at this point, fuelled by friends who believe in the project, but we’re seeing the possibilities. If you’re asking about the production process, it mostly answers to “What if we…” That’s how episodes and productions begin for us. If it's a story from Mindanao, it's a story worth telling.

Are you open to story pitches?
Yes.

Who are the main people behind the MindaNews Podcast?
I executive produce all the episodes so far, and we’re pooling in internal staff to assist in upcoming episodes alongside friends in various disciplines like the academe, law, and urban planning for potential shows that we have in store.

What editorial plans do you have for the rest of 2024?
We’re banking on the idea that there are various stories that Mindanao can share, and what better way to do this than through conversations from across these disciplines. Eventually, we want to incorporate the product as a part of our sustainability model.

I'm very thankful for the assistance of organisations such as Pasalidahay for our film treatments, Sandy Kiamco and Mike Zafra, and the rest of the guys at Holodeck for our music projects, Bagane Fiola, Jay Rosas and John Bengan and our friends over at Timewrap, various leaders in civil society, as well as friends of MindaNews and the Mindanao Institute of Journalism who are there every step of the way.

The MindaNews Podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Thank you, Yas Ocampo, Executive Producer of The MindaNews Podcast, for doing this interview with us. Read the interview online or share the link here.

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