Adam Shand At Large: ATM Boy
The prolific PodcastOne true crime podcaster Adam Shand is back with a new story launching next week called ATM Boy. Shand tells the story of how, in 2011, a portal to illicit riches opened for a country barman. It was an easy way to rob a bank, almost a victimless crime. Or so he thought, until he pondered the question of conscience.
Shand told Mediaweek the bank involved was the National Australia Bank and the total amount of money that eventually went missing was $1.6m. After finally being arrested, the culprit was fined over $200,000 and did a year in prison. “It was the cheapest personal loan ever,” said Shand, adding, “if you don’t mind having to do time in prison.” The crook didn’t have to return all the illicit funds. “There was a distinct reluctance to recover the money,” said Shand.
The ATM crook has just been released and has returned to working behind a bar.
The two episodes will cover:
Part One. A barman-turned-bank robber contacts Adam as he tries to understand why no-one is chasing him. He has found a hole in the ATM network of a bank and has morphed into a big-spending high roller but ATM Boy wants his old life back.
Part Two. ATM Boy is on the horns of a dilemma. He can steal enough from the bank to last a lifetime. Life in a tropical hideout awaits but ATM Boy must summon the courage to abandon everything for a life of lies and deceit.
Listen to ATM Boy here from October 12.
The Australian’s podcast success: Audio engages new audience
The editor of The Australian, John Lehmann, spoke this week with Mediaweek about the success of The Teacher’s Pet podcast.
“Podcasting is a real opportunity for us. I would be lying if I didn’t say we are surprised that The Teacher’s Pet has now been downloaded over 22m times. There has never been a piece of content that has had more engagement across our business.
“It wasn’t master-planned. It was reporter Hedley Thomas having a fascination with this story that he had known about and read a little bit about over the years.
“Hedley didn’t start off with a number of podcasts planned and ready to go. He started with one and had some ideas about a couple of others. What he realised after the first one, like a good newspaper story you get great feedback from readers and get tips coming in from people who know something about it.
“Hedley’s phone started to run hot and he had fresh content every week. Hopefully we will have some more episodes of The Teacher’s Pet in the weeks ahead.
“For the future, podcasts are an opportunity for all newspapers. Newspapers are good at content and finding stories, telling them and then following up on those stories.”
Lehmann noted that 60% of The Teacher’s Pet podcast’s [success] has been overseas. He said its podcast partner Whooshka has also let them know that 80% of the audience was female.
“Advertisers were reluctant initially to jump on board. There was a little bit of a feeling with some wondering if it would be good for their brands to be associated with true crime.
“Katie Page at Harvey Norman could see the value in the story of this mystery about a mother who had left two young daughters behind and that it might touch the hearts of women. And she was right. This podcast has shown there is an opportunity for advertisers to engage with audiences.”
See also: Mediaweek Q&A: John Lehmann, Editor, The Australian
9Honey’s new Failing Fabulously podcast
Online women’s network 9Honey has launched a new podcast, hosted by Shelly Horton. Called Failing Fabulously, it features some of Australia’s most high-profile women, sharing their personal stories of failure and how they bounced back.
“I’m a Type A personality and that also means I’m a perfectionist and I worry excessively. So when I fail, which I do often, I fall to pieces or face-first into a tub of ice cream,” Horton said on 9Honey.
Horton has launched the podcast to help get over her fear of failing, convinced that some of Australia’s most high-profile women also want to share their personal and professional fails so that everyone can learn how to bounce back.
Podcast guests include comedian Julia Morris, who shares a professional stuff-up that cost her a lucrative commercial contract, and the queen of daytime TV, Kerri-Anne Kennerley, who explains why she doesn’t believe in failure.
60 Minutes reporter and co-host of Weekend Today Allison Langdon shares a parenting fail that will make all mums feel a little bit better about themselves.
The series also features Jessica Rowe, Natasha Exelby, Samantha Wills, Rosie Waterland and Deborah Knight.
New episodes of Failing Fabulously will be released every Wednesday.
Listen to Failing Fabulously here.
Whimn.com.au’s new podcast series: My Father the Murderer
With Her in Mind Network (Whimn) is producing a new six-part podcast series My Father the Murderer, which launches on Sunday October 7 and follows journalist Nina Young’s very personal quest to uncover the truth about her family.
Now in her 30s, Young grew up with a family secret and didn’t discover the truth about her father until she was in her 20s.
Part true crime and part memoir, the podcast tackles the question of how well we really know ourselves and the people we love, as well as looking at the ripple effects of trauma that one violent act can create. The series is a rich storytelling experience that includes accompanying video, editorial and a custom website build.
Nina Young said this week: “I’ve known that I needed to tell this story since the moment I first discovered the truth about my father, but I didn’t know how, or when, I would be able to. It feels like the right time now, and a podcast feels like the perfect format. It has been incredibly confronting and at times scary, but it has also been very healing to create.”
The podcast was created and produced by an all-female team led by Young, host and producer of the series, along with experienced podcast producer Dewi Cook, producer Bek Day, and video producer Sinead Barrett. All creative, graphics and video were produced in-house by the News DNA team.
The My Father the Murderer podcast series is sponsored by Foxtel’s new drama series Mr Inbetween.
To listen and read more visit myfatherthemurderer.com.au
OzPod conference releases guest list
Podcast storytellers, producers and innovators from Australia and around the globe join forces in Melbourne on Wednesday October 17 for the OzPod 2018 annual podcast conference, hosted by the ABC.
A list of the special guests has been released:
International speakers
Zack Reneau-Wedeen (Google Podcasts, product manager and co-founder)
Veronica Simmonds (CBC producer, Alone: A Love Story and Sleepover)
Julia Henderson (ESPN 30 for 30 producer, Bikram)
Local speakers include
Yumi Stynes (ABC Ladies, We Need To Talk)
Wendy Syfret (Vice Australia and New Zealand, Head of Editorial)
Patricia Karvelas (RN Drive, The Party Room)
Joanne Woo (VP, Communications for GE Australia, Decoding Genius)
Hedley Thomas (The Australian, The Teacher’s Pet)
Allan Clarke (ABC Unravel True Crime: Blood on the Tracks)
For news and ticketing information visit http://www.abc.net.au/events/ozpod/
