Compiled by Tess Connery and Grace Gollasch
Justin Hill on WorldPride, Loud+ Proud, and The Streaming Service
As part of Sydney WorldPride 2023, Australian craft brewing company, Little Creatures has launched a campaign and event with SCA, SoundCloud and media agency UM. Fronted by Justin Hill, the ‘All Creatures Welcome’ partnership worked with listeners across both SCA’s radio and digital audio networks invited to share personal stories around what pride means to them and their communities.
Podcast Week’s Tess Connery spoke to Justin Hill about the campaign, his new TV show, and his podcast The Streaming Service.
When asked what made him say yes to joining the Little Creatures campaign alongside SCA, SoundCloud, and UM, Hill says that it was “a no-brainer.”
“I’m at the 2Day FM Sydney offices, and have always worked really closely with our internal group looking after our LGBT activity in the station. We’ve worked really closely with Mardi Gras as the official sponsor before. It was a conversation that I’ve been very lucky to have with my colleagues, and they have kind of turned to me as a bit of an unofficial representative of my community.
“When this campaign came around, when they approached me about it, I was like, absolutely. I’m familiar with Little Creatures, my brother is a big fan of them. This is a brand that gets pride, it gets that we celebrate it all year round – but we celebrate harder at WorldPride. It was just a no-brainer for me to be involved.”
The campaign culminated in a bespoke VIP party event at Sydney’s The Ace Hotel – and live-streamed around the country, because as Hill says “it doesn’t matter where you celebrate privately in your small town or in a big city, you’re still celebrating. It’s still very important to everyone.”
Before the party, however, the campaign involved asking people to record and submit stories about pride and what it means to them.
“This time of the year brings up a lot of emotions for a lot of people, and while we do celebrate it, it can also be a tough time for people. I think the great thing about this campaign is that it allowed people to verbally tell us their story – so the entry mechanic was that they had to record an audio message, it wasn’t just writing down an answer. We actually got to hear people leave us a message and tell us what pride meant to them. Listening to some of them, I have been a mess for the last couple of weeks, honestly.”
WorldPride has also seen the launch of Hayu’s first locally produced original content series – Loud + Proud with Justin Hill.
The short-form series, consisting of six, seven-minute episodes, was launched in conjunction with Sydney WorldPride, and is available to stream now in over 40 markets.
“The thing I’ve been saying to people is that it has made me feel like my cup is full, even overflowing,” says Hill. “I watched all the episodes, and if I could have edited it myself, that’s how I would have edited it.
“I have this real thing about understanding the trials and tribulations that our community goes through, and giving them space to discuss – but also equally giving space to people who are thriving. The people that came on the show are just superheroes in my eyes, they are the best and they are living their lives authentically. They’re sharing their day-to-day lives with everyone, but they’re a great example of people who are thriving in our community.
“I want to show young people in particular around the country that you can absolutely have anything you want, and just because you are a little bit different, or not even sure what you are yet, that’s perfectly okay. That doesn’t mean you can’t have it, because you deserve it as much as anyone else.”
As if he wasn’t busy enough, Hill also has a podcast called The Streaming Service, where he gives listeners the run-down on the TV shows that are worth their time – and subscription fees.
As for what he’s watching at the moment?
“Red Rose is a BBC show that’s just come onto Netflix, and everyone is talking about it at the moment. It’s very, very 2023. It’s about a group of kids in Bolton in the UK who graduate from school and become obsessed with this app called Red Rose. It tells them to do things and then it rewards them – but if they don’t do it, it punishes them. It’s just it’s so relevant to our world at the moment.
“Obviously, it turns scary and deadly and people start dying, but I swear, once you watch it you will have a social media break from your phone for a very long time.”
[Listen to The Streaming Service here]
Pro Podcast announces rebranding effort and podcaster portal
Founded by Darcy Milne, Pro Podcast Production has announced a series of changes with the aim of further improving the services that the business offers.
Firstly, the company has begun a rebranding effort with Creative Brand Agency, Societal. The new branding reflects the full range of services that Pro Podcast now offers, making Pro Podcast a one-stop shop for everything a podcaster needs to succeed.
Pro Podcast has also announced the launch of an exclusive podcaster portal designed to streamline the entire podcasting process, making it easier and more intuitive to create a podcast. With the portal, clients can access everything they need for their podcast production, access resources and communicate with the team.
Finally, Pro Podcast has announced that they are expanding their team to provide more support to their clients, and are welcoming Danny Giles to the team as the company’s newest video and audio producer. Giles comes with experience producing Spotify and SBS Originals and has previously worked at Sunrise, Nickelodeon, Network 10, and ABC.
Internet culture podcast by Centennial Beauty announces rebrand to infinite scroll
Centennial Beauty’s podcast has announced a rebrand for the launch of season four. The show’s new name, infinite scroll reflects the podcast’s renewed focus on internet culture, the creator economy, viral and tech-related news.
Hosted by journalists and co-founders of Centennial Beauty, Lauren Meisner and Jordyn Christensen break down and discuss the biggest topic on the internet each week, while encouraging critical thought about how social media is influencing Gen Z culture, values and the way they, as a generation, engage with the world around them.
Now in their fourth season overall – the first as infinite scroll, the podcast has featured interviews with guests including singer Madison Beer and Christine Quinn of Selling Sunset, and regularly ranks number one on the Entertainment News charts in Australia.
The podcast has seen 70% growth in subscribers and 58% increase in listens per episode from 2021. infinite scroll reaches tens of thousands of Gen Z and young Millennial listeners each month.
[Listen to infinite scroll here]
The TrustMakers take a look behind the scenes of Hellmann’s Super Bowl commercial
In the latest episode of The TrustMakers, Edelman’s Smita Reddy is joined by Ben Crook, Unilever’s vice president/GM for condiments and dressings in North America.
Crook takes listeners behind the scenes of Hellmann’s Super Bowl commercial and discusses how the brand hopes to tackle the issue of food waste. “This is a very trusted brand, and it’s got a long-standing heritage,” he says. “But what we’re more interested in is making an impact.”
TheTrustMakers explores what it takes to build trust in today’s society, exploring the relationship that all institutions—businesses and brands, governments, NGOs, media—build with their stakeholders.
[Listen to TheTrustMakers here]
TikTok creator of the year Kat Clark announces Basically Besties Australia-wide tour
Tik Tok creator of the year Kat Clark has announced a nationwide tour to get closer to her fans and celebrate the success of her mum-and-daughter podcast, Basically Besties.
The tour has been designed by Kat’s fans, after she invited people to pre-register their interest, with over 16,000 people signing up within 24 hours. Based on those requests the tour is set for 5 dates across Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth, kicking off in April.
Known for her family-style vlogs with daughter Latisha Clark, Kat recently won the 2022 AACTA Audience Choice Award for Best Digital Creator and has o become Australia’s leading content creator on TikTok.
Kat Clark said: “TikTok and podcasting have given me the ability to connect with people no matter where they are in the world, so the ability to get out on tour and actually see and speak with an audience in person is tremendously exciting.”
[Listen to Basically Besties here]
LiSTNR kicks off new Aussie Rules podcast with Nick Riewoldt
Following the launch of the Footy Talk – Rugby League Podcast, LiSTNR has turned its attention to Aussie Rules fans and kicked off the Footy Talk – Daily Australian Rules Podcast.
LiSTNR has also secured footy superstar Nick Riewoldt as one of the rotating hosts of Footy Talk.
Now live on the LiSTNR app and with a new episode each day, seven days a week, the Footy Talk – Daily Australian Rules Podcast breaks down the biggest stories and provides the latest news, interviews, expert analysis, and banter from the world of footy.
See also: LiSTNR launches new rugby league podcast Footy Talk
Footy Talk will feature legends of the game, current superstars and the best experts and news breakers that footy has to offer.
The Footy Talk team includes former St Kilda superstar Leigh ‘Joey’ Montagna, former Blues and Magpies champion Dale ‘Daisy’ Thomas, 2017 AFLW premiership player Abbey Holmes and, in a recruiting coup, former Saints legend Nick Riewoldt.
[Listen to Footy Talk – Daily Australian Rules Podcast here]
Nine’s 3AW announces three new podcasts for upcoming AFL season
With just three weeks until the start of the 2023 AFL season 3AW has announced full details of its lineup for the year ahead, having secured radio, streaming, and digital rights to the AFL until 2024.
The station will also launch three new podcasts, available for free on all streaming platforms.
Eddie & Jimmy
Every Monday, Eddie McGuire and Jimmy Bartel set the footy agenda for the week ahead and discuss the issues from the round just played. Eddie and Jimmy don’t hold back – they’re across everything, they know how fans want it to be played, and they’re ready to discuss and debate the greatest game in the world.
Nothin’ Like The 90s
Each week Anthony Hudson interviews some of the biggest names that made the 1990s so incredible – the players, coaches and media personalities. The decade that seems so long ago will be brought back to the current day using the library of 3AW’s audio archives. Featuring never-before-heard stories about footy moments from the 90s, life after footy, as well as plenty of banter and insight to get you hyped up for the round ahead.
Bartel & Beva
Jimmy Bartel and Bruce Eva have found the perfect excuse to talk sport and have a punt. Join Bartel and Beva each week as they discuss all sports being played around the world right now, from football to darts, cricket to table tennis. With help from their international experts, they’ll discuss and debate the odds for the weekend of sport ahead. It is a punters’ paradise. Subscribe to hear every episode with AFL legend Jimmy Bartel and sport journo Bruce Eva.
News Corp Australia appoints Dan Box as editorial director of audio
News Corp Australia has announced the appointment of journalist Dan Box as editorial director of audio for NewsCast, the company’s on-demand audio arm.
In this new role, Box will work alongside the company’s newsrooms to develop true crime audio programming as the business continues to build on Crime X, its audio-only true crime subscription offer available through Apple Podcasts.
Dan Box
This includes commissioning and creating audio programming to complement the award-winning podcasts produced by News Corp Australia’s mastheads.
Box will also executive produce the company’s I Catch Killers podcast and work closely with host Gary Jubelin to drive the franchise’s growth, including developing future audio investigative serials with Jubelin.
