A new podcast sheds light on the communities along Oregon’s North Santiam River, from Aumsville to Idanha.
“Santiam Local brings our audience weekly episodes with the most interesting and engaging conversations about the people, projects and stories shaping our community, culture and way of life,” said Nicole Miller of Word’s Out PR.
Miller hosts the show, which is produced by Michael Calcagno of Calcagno Media. The show is recorded in Stayton and digitally distributed automatically to listeners’ mobile devices weekly.
“We hope people understand our vision with Santiam Local, which is to create a community of like-minded, engaged citizens who share the common values of caring about our neighbors and the future of the North Santiam River region,” Miller said. “Michael and I both share an interest in building vital communities. We both have education, training and experience in journalism, and we have complementary skillsets in interviewing, reporting and sharing stories.”
Miller and Calcagno met a year ago when he moved to Stayton and joined the Stayton Sublimity Chamber of Commerce.
“The chamber director noted that we are in similar professional fields, so she introduced us,” Miller said. “Eventually, Michael pitched the idea to me that we start a podcast focused on the local area. He said, ‘I’ll be the producer, and you’ll be the host.’ I knew right then that this was a go. It was that next step I’d been looking for in both my career and in the community.”
Since the focus of Santiam Local is the stories of local people and project shaping their communities, Miller and Calcagno plan to shine a spotlight on topics they think matter to the area, from news about small businesses and nonprofit groups to local government issues and community events.
The duo has recorded four episodes to date, with early episodes introducing the podcast and who’s behind it. Also featured were interviews with Revitalize Downtown Stayton and a local author.
“We’ll soon share updates on the Detroit Dam construction project, bring you candidate interviews in the race for House District 17, and more exciting topics,” Miller said.
“Topic ideas are welcome, too. Anyone can listen to episodes on-demand online at SantiamLocal.com and easier than that, we’re on your mobile device too.”
When considering the business structure for this podcast, Miller and Calcagno agreed they’d rather not have the show interrupted with ads and opted instead for a member-model format.
“The Santiam Local member model means that rather than selling advertising, we’re relying on listener support to keep the show going,” Miller said. “For as little as $4 a month, listener pledges help the podcast grow. They also help keep Santiam Local ad-free, and members receive exclusive access to members-only perks and deals.”
Members receive exclusive content, behind the scenes + Ask Me Anything (AMA), episode transcripts, prioritized feedback on episode ideas and featured guests, and as a welcome gift: chocolate chip cookies.
“We want to focus on getting the highest quality episode topics before we build more,” Miller said. “Stay tuned because we’ll only continue to grow from here!”
To suggest a topic, email Santiam Local at [email protected].
Santiam Local
You can subscribe to the podcast on:
• Google Podcasts (Google Play)
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• or at SantiamLocal.com
