Open Room Media is a New Podcast that Shares Inspiring Narratives of Startup Media Companies

When Mignon Fogarty first introduced her journalism class at the Reynolds School of Journalism, University of Nevada, Reno, to the edible Reno-Tahoe owners she knew the startup story would inspire her students. The local food magazine was launched by Amanda Burden and Jaci Goodman, who had put their life savings into starting the publication.

Their story was unusual, but it’s also one of many successful startup media companies, which inspired Fogarty to share edible Reno-Tahoe and other media entrepreneurs’ stories with more than just her students. That’s when Fogarty, who also serves as the Reynolds School of Journalism media entrepreneurs chair, launched Open Room Media, a podcast that features startup entrepreneurs in the industry.

Mignon Fogarty, host of Open Room Media

“There’s something transformative about seeing someone else succeed,” Fogarty said. “Hearing this story of people starting a media company helps other people start companies…You hear a lot about big startups that get venture funding. We’re not covering those stories, but we feature people with smaller seed money. A lot of people are interested (in starting companies) but haven’t seen people who have done it.”

While Open Room Media shares the success stories of the entrepreneurs, it also discusses the challenges people face when starting a business and how they overcame those challenges.

Open Room Media can also be an example for newspapers: “The kind of podcast they could create if they recorded some of their interviews,” Fogarty said. “I also think the stories we tell could be inspiring for people who currently work at newspapers and are thinking of striking out on their own, whether it's with a blog, a hyperlocal site, a YouTube channel, or a podcast of their own.”

Patricia Bobeck, co-host of Open Room Media

Because Fogarty and her team, co-host Patricia Bobek and Nico Colombant, who does the audio mixing for Open Room Media and is a podcasting instructor at the University Nevada, Reno, are focusing on companies around the country, she said they travel to interview the subjects or hire someone to obtain clean audio and natural sound.

Each monthly episode is roughly 12 to 14 minutes, and the storytelling format that Open Room Media requires extensive editing, tweaking and production, Fogarty said.

Still, Fogarty and her team have found great success with Open Room Media. In the weeks after launching, the podcast was still in the top 100 podcasts on iTunes and the podcast has received plenty of positive feedback from listeners and the featured entrepreneurs.

Nico Colombant, podcasting instructor at the University Nevada

Although Open Room Media currently has no advertisers, Fogarty said they plan to sell ad spots in the future.

For more information, visit j.mp/OpenRoomMediaPodcast.