AJAs 2024 Finalists
If It Makes You Happy Podcast
| Slug/Label | If It Makes You Happy Podcast |
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| Date Aired or Published | March 13, 2024 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | The Signal |
| Name of Program: | The Signal Podcast |
| If co-produced, list partner: | All episodes posted on Spotify and YouTube |
| Location: | Halifax |
| List awards, grants: | Canadian Online Publishing Awards - Gold prize |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | Ep 1 - 23:56, Ep 2 - 23:12, Ep 3 - 19:54 |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: At a time of skyrocketing anxiety and depression rates among young people, there has never been so much information and advice on what to do to be happier. Books, articles, podcasts. It can be overwhelming, and hard to know how reliable any of it is. In a three-part podcast, King’s podcasting students recruited volunteers and experts to put the most-recommended "happiness" advice to the test. They followed the volunteers for several weeks to see what really works. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: This 3-part podcast was produced by only 5 students over just 6 weeks, during an advanced audio workshop. Students had to develop the concept, do the foundational research, recruit the volunteers, follow and interview the volunteers over time, find and interview experts, write, record and edit, and mix final expisodes with an original score. This is work that typically takes months in professional settings. They also promoted and marketed the podcast on social media and were able to get coverage of it in local media including CBC Radio's Information Morning and The Coast. |
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