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Back in November, Vocal Fry producer Jay Cockburn jumped in the newsletter to argue that there’s no such thing as a video podcast. I supported his argument then, and I continue to support it to this day.

But it seems that YouTube doesn’t see things that way.

Ashley Carman, who used to write the Hot Pod newsletter for The Verge and now covers the audio and podcast industry for Bloomberg, reported that YouTube is offering up to $300,000 to get podcasters to make videos.

I’ll admit, when I read the headline, my first thought was: this is silly! We already told you there’s no such thing as a video podcast!

But then I actually read the article which says:

“The money could help producers create filmed versions of their episodes or make other kinds of videos.”

And this did make me wonder about the kind of creativity that one might do with this kind of “grant.” Because while one could use this money to just film the taping of the podcast and put that out as a video, you could also produce really fun bonus content like teaser videos and behind-the-scenes content. I would be interested to see whether YouTube getting into to podcast game leads to more interesting marketing initiatives, or whether podcasts start to go the way of J*e R*g*n and becoming more and more like unedited talk shows.

Here are some other things we wanted to share this week:

Last week I mentioned a Twitter thread from Angela Sterritt in which she talked about the need for a trauma-informed approach to interviewing residential school survivors. Alice Wilder, who writes Starting Out, the wonderful newsletter for Transom, sent us the article she wrote last year on trauma informed reporting. This is a fantastic resource that offers concrete solutions to questions like: how do you handle a source who becomes emotional during an interview?

We all know to ask basic questions like how to spell the source’s full name, their age, and their job title.

But have you been integrating asking people for their pronouns into your interviews?

Robyn Simon wrote about when and how to ask for someone’s pronouns in a podcast interview for Pacific Content. Robyn also points readers over to the Trans Journalists Association for more resources.

This is wholly unrelated to podcasts but there’s a new Maker Pizza location in Toronto and we are getting pizza for dinner tonight and my friend introduced me to a pizza size calculator that tells you what size pizza you should order.

Rogers is hiring a part-time producer for Sportsnet Audio! It’s a position that includes nights and weekends.

Bell Media is hiring an announcer for the afternoon drive program on 97.5 Virgin Radio in London, Ontario. I hear there’s a river there!

Calling all night owls! CBC Ottawa is hiring a permanent, full-time evening assignment producer. Apply by EOD March 8.

CBC Vancouver is hiring a temporary, full-time associate producer assigned to digital. Apply by EOD March 8.

I will always treasure my three day visit to Prince Edward Island after my undergraduate graduation, even though I had strep throat. One day, I will return, and I will not have strep throat. All of which is to say, if you want to work in Charlottetown, CBC is hiring a temporary, full-time reporter/editor assigned as copy editor. The role goes until September 2022, and you have until EOD March 10 to apply.

Are you an amazing audience member? Always the first to clap at the end of the performance? Maybe you applaud at the end of a great podcast episode? CBC Podcasts is hiring a permanent, full-time senior manager of audience building. My understanding is that audience development actually has very little to do with clapping and more to do with building engagement and growing listeners but, in my opinion, we should clap more.

iPolitics is hiring a full-time reporter out of Ottawa.

On the one hand: I hate to post an unpaid internship. On the other hand: all of CBC’s internships are unpaid, and while I think this is a bad thing and they should change it, many students need internships to graduate. So, if you’re a student who can do an internship and have it count toward course credit, and you want to do a CBC internship, CBC Montreal is accepting applications for the Fall 2022 semester News and Current Affairs internship. This is a French-language only position, and you have until March 31 to apply.

From last week’s newsletter: The Walrus is hiring a digital producer to cover parental leave. The job is based in Toronto, but can be done remotely from anywhere in Canada. Compensation is $45,000-$50,000 with a full benefits package, and applications are due by Friday, March 11.

Have you ever been given a contract that requires you to have liability insurance? And then looked up liability insurance, and whoops, turns out it costs like $800? Here’s the thing: you can often ask for that clause to be removed from the contract, especially if the project doesn’t really put you in a situation where you’re likely to be liable for damages.

That said, you might want liability insurance. Women Who Freelance published a Canadian freelancer's guide to liability insurance — note that they’re publicizing a deal on a package with Zensurance for tailored freelance packages, but the guide does a good job of breaking down different kinds of liability insurance.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema has announced the new Executive Residency Program for mid-career professionals who identify as Black, Indigenous, or as a person of colour. This is an eight-month program that will match high-level execs with emerging industry leaders in film, television, or digital media. You can read the detailed rules and regulations and then apply by April 1, 2022.

And for early/mid career journalists, the Canadian Association of Journalists has announced their latest round of mentors for their mentorship program! CAJ members have until 5:00 pm E.T. on Friday, March 18 to apply.

Vulture has just published a pitch guide! We love pitch guides.

Don’t forget! You have until March 31, 2022 to apply for the Sound Documentary International Summer Program. There’s a scholarship! And you get to go to Paris! In case you missed it, I wrote about the program a few weeks ago.

When life feels very serious, even weighty perhaps, I like to listen to podcasts that feel uplifting. My go-to used to be Thirst Aid Kit, which stopped making new episodes in September of 2020 but still has a phenomenal catalogue to go through. But little did I know that when Vocal Fry producer Max Collins said they produced a new show for CBC Podcasts with Kelly & Kelly, I might just find my new go-to mood-boosting listen.

Let's Make A Sci-Fi features comedy writers Ryan Beil, Maddy Kelly and Mark Chavez as they try to write a sci-fi pilot. The gimmick is that none of them are sci-fi writers. Hijinks ensue! Each episode will feature different guests (we’re promised the likes of Neil deGrasse Tyson and Rainn Wilson) to help them on their quest. The first episode features Jem Garrard (Vagrant Queen) and Catherine Winder (Star Wars). I went in a little skeptical — I am not much of a sci-fi person. Turns out, you really don’t need to be a sci-fi person! It was a delightful listen, and I could really see myself listening as a pump up on my way to teach. It’s fun and silly, and since it’s a few different voices, you get the kind of “friends hanging out at the party” vibe. But it’s also well edited (kudos to Max) so it does not get into “listening to someone else’s conversation that they think is interesting but isn’t actually that interesting” territory that I often find on chat podcasts with more than two voices. Highly recommended for sci-fi lovers & agnostics alike looking for something fun to brighten up their day.

The new season of Building Good launched this week! Season Three is all about how the architecture and construction industries can contribute to Canada’s goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In the first episode of the season, host Tim Coldwell talks to Chris Benedetti, managing partner of Sussex Strategy group, about the kinds of financial tools that are available to make this goal a reality.

Did you know that Vocal Fry doesn’t just make podcasts? Vocal Fry Principal Katie Jensen did the sound design for two short videos for PlayStation Canada! One features Dalano Banton of the Toronto Raptors, and the other features Wayne Simmonds of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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We want to hear from you! What are you looking for in your podcast news? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram, or by email at info@vocalfrystudios.com.

Thanks to Emily Latimer for editing this newsletter, and to Katie Jensen for designing it.

We’ll see you again on March 11. Until then, here’s an update from producer Kattie’s dog, Joe, inspiring us all to take an afternoon nap in the sun.