S1E03 - Jesse Brown: Growing Canadaland Through a Deal With the Audience

In this episode, we have an amazing conversation with Jesse Brown, Publisher and host of Canadaland, an independent news site and podcast network supported mainly by its audience. Focusing on Canadian media, news, current affairs and politics, Canadaland and its six shows get over a hundred thousand downloads every week.Throughout this podcast, we talked about:Crowdfunding and how it grows the Canadaland podcast networkRelationship dynamics between journalists and their audiencesPitching new shows and documentaries through membershipEnjoy!---Subscribe to Supercasters Premium for FREE to get bonus content with every episode: premium.supercast.com (it’s free, takes 2 mins, no special apps to download).For this episode, the AMA in Supercasters Premium focuses on Canadaland’s crowdfunding month, a big annual revenue driver, reducing churn for memberships and tackling controversial stories. ---If you enjoy the podcast, we’d be honored if you could leave a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. Help your fellow podcaster find us!Follow Supercast: @supercastFollow Jason: @jsewhoyTimestamps 4:58 The birth of Canadaland and addressing media criticism7:04 What was wrong with the Canadian media8:21 Getting the first listeners and guests9:26 The risk for journalists in Canada12:09 Experimenting with video, reporting and storytelling14:03 "The audience was so distant and represented by the most extreme people"15:17 From free to paid: a deal with the audience18:21 How partnering with the audience influences Canadaland's direction20:25 "I don't agree with Jesse Brown, but I support Canadaland anyhow"21:42 The truth is not always something you want to hear22:45 Keeping a dialogue with the audience: how Jesse Brown does it26:10 Thunder Bay: Launching new shows and documentaries27:34 Pitching to the audience for money and support31:05 Using Supercast to provide more for the audience34:26 De-Jessefying Canadaland: Letting others take charge37:51 Accepting investments, and the million-dollar Tiny Foundation investment38:58 "They have no editorial influence or voting shares."Premium Timestamps43:03 How crowdfunding is a big driver of Canadaland's revenue growth45:36 Total listens as a network and how crowdfunding helps that49:08 Reducing churns for podcast memberships50:59 Patreon's flaws and how Supercast helps Canadaland53:05 Testing out more ideas for premium content54:34 What drives Jesse Brown to tackle big and controversial storiesLinksCanadalandSupport CanadalandJesse Brown's TwitterCheck out the bonus AMA at our premium Supercast feed!CreditsSupercasters is a Kelly&Kelly production. The show was created by Supercast, the easiest way to add a paid membership to your show. Get paid to podcast at supercast.com.