WNYC Launches First-Ever Women's Podcast Festival
(New York, NY—May 12, 2015) — On June 4-5, WNYC, producer of innovative podcasts including Death, Sex & Money, On the Media, Radiolab and Freakonomics Radio, will convene the first-ever women's podcast festival, “Werk It: How to Be a Grown Ass Podcaster.”
Coming just one month after co-hosting the industry’s first podcasting upfront, WNYC is bringing together some of today's brightest women working in audio, digital media and the arts. “Werk It” is an invite-only two-day festival of exclusive industry workshops, panel discussions and networking opportunities, plus two evenings of dynamic live public events.
Guided by a who's who of women in media including Anna Sale (host, WNYC’s Death, Sex & Money), Roxane Gay (author, Bad Feminist), Lulu Miller (co-host, Invisibilia), Crissle (co-host, The Read), among many others, festival participants will spend each day workshopping the challenges behind developing, pitching and producing phenomenal podcasts.
In 2014, the Women's Media Center reported that gender inequality among journalists is evident across all media outlets and reporting on all issues, with men receiving 63% of the byline credits in print, Internet and wire news. A quick glance at iTunes today reveals that only 15 of the top 100 podcasts on iTunes are hosted by women. Spearheaded by Laura R. Walker, president and CEO of New York Public Radio, WNYC's 'Werk It' women's podcast festival will help give voice to the community of women who need to be heard.
“One of the fundamental roles of public media is to bring new voices and new ideas to the forefront,” said Walker. “So far, male voices have dominated the podcasting landscape, but that is changing! This first-ever women’s podcasting festival hosted by WNYC is an indication of that change underway. WNYC is so pleased to have the support of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as we convene the leading female voices, producers and creative thinkers in audio production to amplify women’s voices, begin new types of conversations and spur further innovation in podcasting.”
The festival’s two special evening events open to the public at The Greene Space at WNYC and WQXR will be available for live video streaming and on-demand viewing at www.thegreenespace.org.
WERK IT Public Events:
Tickets can be purchased at www.thegreenespace.org
June 4 at 7pm / WNYC’s How to Be a Grown Ass Woman
Critically-acclaimed comedian Sara Schaefer (host of WNYC and Nerdist’s podcast Lies, MTV's Nikki & Sara Live, NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon) hosts a night of hilarious, frank discussion about stepping it up in life, joined by actress and comedian Jessica Williams of The Daily Show, Heather Havrilesky of New York Magazine's existential advice column "Ask Polly", and Katja Blichfield of the hit web series High Maintenance. They'll share their seminal stories about growing up before opening up the floor to the audience for a lively Q&A.
Tickets: $20, includes a complimentary drink
http://www.thegreenespace.org/events/thegreenespace/2015/jun/04/how-be-grown-ass-woman/
June 5 at 7pm / Live Taping of BuzzFeed's Another Round
WNYC hosts BuzzFeed's Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton for a live taping of their hit new podcast Another Round. They'll talk race, feminism and pop culture over a few drinks, then interview Roxane Gay, author of the New York Times bestseller Bad Feminist about her experience as a black feminist working in academic institutions dominated by white intelligentsia.
Tickets: $20, includes a complimentary drink
http://www.thegreenespace.org/events/thegreenespace/2015/jun/05/buzzfeeds-another-round-live/
WNYC's “Werk It” is supported, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as part of a project to develop new female voices in public media.
About WNYC
From its state-of-the-art studios in New York City, WNYC is reshaping audio for a new generation of listeners, with groundbreaking, innovative radio programs and podcasts that include Radiolab; Freakonomics Radio; On the Media; Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin; Death, Sex & Money; and New Tech City, among others. With an urban vibrancy and a global perspective, WNYC is America’s most listened-to public radio station and the home to an award-winning newsroom of sixty-five journalists.
