Reporter

Brent Harbour is an old hat when it comes to broadcasting and radio and has worked in the industry both in New Zealand and overseas for 37 years. He shares his views on AI, his old days of live-to-air commercial radio and the podcasts he makes today.

I started in 1986 at 91 FM, which was called Magic 91 FM. It then became Hit Radio 91 FM, and 91 FM the Rock of the 90's, and today, it is ZM. 

The two photos below are in the on air studio on the "91st" floor of Metro Media House, Byron Ave, Takapuna, which was our second studio location, moving from Hurstmere Road.

The black and white picture is me hosting "Friday Live" where we had listeners from an office or company live in the studio for 60-minutes and free pizza! Good old dial-a-dinos!

I have been interested in podcasts for a number of years, and during the first lockdown, I started doing video podcasts called Love, Live, Local where I was interviewing local businesses in the area and supplying video and audio versions of our chats for them to use on social media during a tough time for businesses.

From there, I produced a few podcasts for clients on marketing, for charities, and recruitment companies. I have a huge belief in the power of audio and it’s so great to see the positive work being done in the podcast space in New Zealand.

What do you love most about your job and being in the podcast industry?

The podcast I host band produce is called the Outlet. I produce them for the Wanaka, Queenstown, Central Otago and Southland Apps. I love that I get to interview people from a wide range of backgrounds in business, charity, sport, science, conservation, a huge range of topics. I also love the fact that our podcast is hyper local, it gives communities a chance to get their stories out. We cover local news and sport, events, job opportunities and more.

The Outlet is a weekly podcast and the people I have spoken to are terrific, including people from NASA talking about the Super Pressure Balloon launches in Wanaka; a hemp building business start-up, New Zealand singing legend Suzanne Prentice, the CEO of Queenstown Airport on their draft master plan to sporting legends, sustainability charities, and more. It’s just great work, and I am learning a lot about different industries and people in New Zealand, and having great conversations with them.

Paint a picture of your daily work routine.

I work differently with all the App owners (and the systems that are best for the way they run their business). We catch up on Google Meet to discuss interviews and what they would like covered in their podcast for the week. Then I work to secure the interviews, I begin working on the questions and doing my research about the interviewees, their stories and work they do.

I record the interviews Tuesday to Thursday and edit them, and then build the structure and start scripting and voicing the episodes, assembling and producing the episodes from Wednesday for publication on Thursday and Friday.

What do you think are some of the biggest challenges for the podcast industry today?

Cut-through, marketing and revenue generation. It was great to see so many independents, and some of the larger podcast companies/ producers, at the recent podcast summit in Auckland. There is some fantastic work being done on a wide ranged of subjects as well which is great to see. With all the podcasts that you do, getting people engaged with what you are talking about is the key, and that comes back to content and stories. Then it’s how you share all that content. There were some great ideas at the summit, and I will be working harder on refining what we do with the podcast content wise and trying to find the best practices around marketing and revenue. I think that is a challenge for everyone.

What opportunities do you think podcasts create?

I think they create diverse voices on a diverse range of topics. Our podcast is serving local communities, letting them find out what is going on where they live, but also exposes them to tech, business, sustainability and so much more. Podcasts give you the room to expand on all these ideas.

If there was a change you would want to see in the industry what would it be?

I think perhaps an industry body? More gatherings like the podcast summit, so we can all work together on ideas to build and support the Podcast ecosystem in New Zealand.

What’s your number one bugbear when you listen to a podcast?

I think audio quality. With a background in broadcasting, I think it’s really important. If the quality and levels of hosts and interviewees aren’t great, it can make a tough listen and distract from some great content.

What’s your favourite podcast of all time, and why?

I really enjoy The Fold hosted by Duncan Greive, founder of The Spinoff. I love the media industry so get great insights and chats, and lots of fantastic guests, an enjoyable listen.

Pick one of the two options and explain why you have a preference for one type of podcast genre over the other.

a). Comedy or True Crime?

b). Narrative Documentary or Talk Personality?

I’m always looking for new information on a range of topics. I have enjoyed podcasts from Stuff and other media organisations over the last few years. There is some great journalism going on, and I appreciate the way the audio is crafted and used and the story telling.

What are your thoughts on the evolution of podcasting and technology?

I think when it comes to AI with podcasts, there are so many new tools coming out online every week. It’s a matter of trying them and working out what is best to help you with your workflow, construction and marketing. I’m always trying something new to see what will help the process of putting together a podcast.

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