Abstract
This article describes one state water center’s 14-year experience in producing a short, audiobased information product and poses key questions for water centers and institutes considering audio technologies to tell their states’ water stories. From 2010 to 2024, Virginia Water Radio (VWR), produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, sought to use a short audio show to inform Virginia residents about the abundance, complexity, and use of the state’s water resources. Originally designed to be carried by radio stations, VWR evolved into a primarily podcasted show that was accompanied by a blog providing supporting material. The show produced 674 episodes, running weekly from January 2010 through April 2022 and then biweekly until February 2024. Typically between three and six minutes long, the episodes featured sounds and music to introduce and frame the water-related content. Episode subject areas included organisms, geography, weather and climate, organizations, management, history, and water connections in language and music. Achievements included the show’s longevity, consistency, breadth of topics, online information accompanying each audio episode, and collaborations with musicians and guest voices. Challenges included finding radio station partners, acquiring permission to use music, finding sounds, describing complex subjects concisely, expanding the show’s reach, and balancing staff time among show production, promotion, and evaluation. Questions for water centers or institutes considering an audio product focus on a product’s potential value to an organization’s programs, staff requirements, evaluation, episode frequency and duration, potential use of sounds and music, role of collaborators, equipment, and technology capacity.
