Compiled by Tess Connery, Grace Gollasch and Jasper Baumann
Keeping the Harbor City informed with This Arvo In Sydney
This Arvo in Sydney, a new original podcast from LiSTNR, is the newest local news podcast created specifically for Sydney. Building on the day’s headlines, This Arvo in Sydney is created by a team of broadcast and investigative journalists who will tackle the big issues impacting Sydneysiders.
Produced and published Monday to Friday, This Arvo takes a deep dive into topics affecting the city and lives of Sydney locals. Hosted by LiSTNR journalist Sacha Barbour Gatt and featuring newly recruited investigative journalists Clair Weaver, Joey Watson, and Bension Siebert, as well as the 2DayFM and Triple M news teams, the podcast will keep listeners informed from 2pm, in time for the afternoon commute and dinnertime discussions.
Podcast Week’s Tess Connery spoke to host Sacha Barbour Gatt about bringing the Harbour city its daily dose of news.
Sacha Barbour Gatt
“Here at LiSTNR, we’re really keen to expand on our already incredible podcast offering. There are so many great news podcasts already part of the stable, but we realised there wasn’t really something for Sydneysiders and for the people of Sydney,” says Barbour Gatt.
“There were a few months of trials and piloting and working out what the best way to tell Sydney stories would be before we settled on the format. We want to do a deep dive, to be able to go deeper than the headlines, and bring a story to light. It starts with a six to eight-minute interview by one of our journalists, and we still want to bring people to headlines, so that we pop them at the end.”
Unlike a lot of news podcasts that are out first thing in the morning, This Arvo – as its name suggests – is released at 2pm each weekday. Barbour Gatt says that this means that the podcast is filling a gap in the market, and gives listeners something different.
“A lot of news podcasts come out in the morning, so people want to get up to date straight away. What we wanted to do was say, hey, you’ve probably already seen all the big stories, let’s bring you something new that maybe you haven’t heard about yet. Let’s go deeper into it, and then we’ll get you up to date with the headlines as well.
“People are very loyal to their listening habits with podcasts. We found that there was this gap – people still want to hear what’s going on at two, three, four, or five o’clock in the afternoon. Sydney is well known for its long commute times, so you’ve got plenty of time to hit play!”
Sydney is such a wide and varied city, and the team at This Arvo are very conscious of that fact. Barbour Gatt says that the podcast is for every Sydneysider, no matter which part of the city they call home.
“The key metric is that we’re not for the northern suburbs, we’re not for the eastern suburbs, we’re not for the city – we’re for the whole of Sydney. Too often I find that coverage can be one-way heavy. But that is something that was set out when we first started – we’re talking to everyone.
“Western Sydney is a huge region of Sydney. So many people live there from so many different backgrounds, and we really want to bring stories that matter to them as well as to people in the city. That is a big, big focus for us.”
In a world where people can get their news from more places than you can count, news podcasts have found success with a very loyal audience. For Barbour Gatt, a lot of that comes down to both the convenience of the medium and how many options there are out there.
“Covid has had a big impact on podcasting, because people aren’t getting in the car as much. They don’t have the same routine that they used to. Podcasting is on demand, you can listen whenever you want, you can hit play on This Arvo at midnight if you want – it’s not something that goes out of date.
“I think people just want more choices and more options. You go through Spotify or LiSTNR and you look at their stable of podcasts and think, holy crap, there are so many! But it’s great, because you can always find something that’s going to suit your mood for the day or suit your needs.”
[Listen to This Arvo in Sydney here]
The Entertainment Hotline meets with stars in latest episodes
Mediaweek’s Entertainment Hotline, hosted by head of entertainment Anita Anabel, met with the stars of the Stan Original film The Portable Door, Miranda Otto, Sophie Wilde and Patrick Gibson.
Anabel met with them just after they walked the blue carpet at the world premiere of their new film, which also stars Christoph Waltz and Sam Neil.
Then, following a Binge Live Event, Anita sat down with Succession star Nicholas Braun who plays popular — and loveable character — Cousin Greg.
In a later episode, Anabel sat down with Mark Samual Bonanno and Zachary Ruane, 2/3rds of the comedy trio Aunty Donna, to discuss their new ABC comedy Aunty Donna’s Coffee Cafe,
[Listen to The Entertainment Hotline here]
Mercado and Manning rebrand to TV Gold
Mediaweek’s James Manning and Andrew Mercado have rebranded their weekly TV podcast to TV Gold.
In the first of the rebranded TV Gold episodes, Manning and Mercado watch the second seasons of Love Me (Foxtel/Binge) and Schmigadoon (AppleTV+).
The biggest release of the week is arguably Celeste Barber in Wellmania (Netflix). They also watch Big Door Prize (AppleTV+) with Chris O’Dowd, and Manning questions the hype surrounding The Night Agent (Netflix).
One of the hosts reveals a new reality format addiction, and the Shows of the Week are revealed.
ABC Listen launches exclusive Bluey companion podcast, Behind Bluey
Bluey creator and showrunner Joe Brumm and members of the design, animation, and production team discuss on the podcast what goes into making the Australian children’s show.
Behind Bluey is an opportunity for fans, parents/carers and screen professionals to hear directly from some of the key Bluey creatives. They share all the stories of the screen craft and never-heard-before stories of the unique pipeline for each episode.
The key creatives joining Joe Brumm on Behind Bluey are Director Richard Jeffery, Animation Directors Beth Harvey and Claire Renton, Lead Art Director Costa Kassab, Art Director Trudi Monteath, Animator Mark Paterson, Production Manager Rhiannon Steffensen, Composer Joff Bush, and Sound Designer Dan Brumm.
The Sick Of It Podcast explores life through a disabled lens
Raimy-Rose Lewis, a Chronic Illness/Disability Advocate launched her new podcast Sick Of It three months ago and now has 11 episodes that explore everything to do with life and disability.
Lewis, born with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), had to engage in extensive research about her rare condition, before presenting her findings to her doctor – resulting in confirmation of her suspected and researched diagnosis. From this experience, Raimy understands the importance of diagnosis and the impact that can have on medical care, but also identity.
Lewis interviews various experts in the podcast and has discussions regarding careers, relationships, health, and current events, learning about life through a disabled lens.
Audible’s Bitter Blood returns for season 2 chronicling the Murdoch media empire
Narrated by actor Alan Ruck (HBO’s Succession), Bitter Blood: Murdoch V. Murdoch features an eight-part deep dive into “The Murdochs,” the contention and hostilities among the family dynasty and their sprawling international media empire.
Through interviews with key insiders and significant archival footage/audio, Murdoch v. Murdoch tracks the rise, criticisms, and controversies of a media juggernaut that began more than 70 years ago.
From the Disney acquisition to Roger Ailes and the Cominion lawsuit, Bitter Blood: Murdoch V. Murdoch examines the fractured internal relationships and scrutiny the Murdochs have endured through international scandals, divorces, litigation, and $70 billion business deals.
