We're partnering on a new podcast
By mid-February, there were four declared candidates for Cleveland Heights’ first-ever mayoral election.
It’s going to be an interesting campaign, and the Heights Observer plans to cover it as we’ve covered previous elections. We won’t endorse candidates, and we’ll focus on giving air to the many reasonable and civil perspectives our readers are sure to offer.
But not all election issues are matters of opinion; they can’t be resolved by candidates’ statements and the back-and-forth of the opinion page. Some questions require context and subject-matter expertise. This is the kind of work the Heights Observer struggles with, given that we operate without any staff reporters.
So we’re doing something new: We’re supporting the launch of a local podcast by Adam Dew that will focus on the candidates and issues leading up to the election.
A Cleveland Heights native, Dew has a background in journalism and runs his own video production business. He’s also an energetic community booster. If you’ve seen Cleveland Heights’ "All are Welcome" promotional video, you’ve seen his work. (If not, you can find it at www.clevelandheights.com, under Community>All Are welcome.)
To be clear, the podcast is Dew’s idea and it will be his effort that drives it. The Heights Observer’s main role is to support it with promotion.
I often describe the Heights Observer as plumbing, and the content our readers provide as the water it carries. Plumbing is important; you can’t have running water without it. But without the need for water, who'd bother with it?
So the idea of using the Heights Observer as a platform for launching this kind of project is consistent with our role as a delivery system for information that engages and activates people in the community.
At the same time, we don’t enter into it lightly. Dew’s proposal had to hit the right buttons: It’s community-focused and hyper-local; it creates its own space rather than trying to occupy space that we already fill; and it comes from someone we have reason to believe will deliver consistent and meaningful content.
Here's where you can always find the latest edition of the podcast: https://www.dewmediainc.com/dew-diligence-podcast. You can also always find it by clicking the “Podcasts” menu button at www.heightsobserver.org.
Bob Rosenbaum
Cleveland Heights resident Bob Rosenbaum is co-chair of the Heights Observer Advisory Committee, and is responsible for its advertising sales and market development.