New podcast UConn 360 aims to cover life in Storrs. (File photo/The Daily Campus)
The University of Connecticut’s official podcast “UConn 360” premiered this semester and aims to cover various aspects of life at the university.
UConn 360 is the university’s first podcast that goes beyond sports coverage, Julie Bartucca, senior marketing associate in the Office of University Communications, said in an email. Since its premiere, the podcast has had interviews with Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s managing director Matthew Pugliese and WHUS’ General Manager Kailey Townsend, according to UConn Today.
“UConn is so much more than athletics. The podcast is a new and different way to (tell stories) using fun audio storytelling methods,” Bartucca said. “There are so many different kinds of stories to tell here, so we try to tap into things that might not be publicized as much. And, we all have so much fun doing it and so much love for UConn, so we hope that comes through and people just enjoy listening to us.”
The podcast is run like a radio show with approximately half an hour’s worth of stories per episode, Bartucca said. Segments range from little-known UConn history to student news.
“As anyone on campus knows, there are stories everywhere,” Bartucca said. “Student activities, research, athletics, students and faculty doing incredible things both within and outside of their programs, fascinating history – we want to cover as much of it as we possibly can.”
New episodes are released every other Wednesday, Bartucca said. The most popular way to listen to the podcast currently is to download it from iTunes, Tom Breen, manager for Special Projects, said.
“The (downloads from iTunes) accounts for about 60 percent of all our listeners so far,” Breen said. “But it’s also available from the Google Play store, and we’ll have it on Spotify as soon as we get five episodes, which is the minimum requirement. You can also listen by going directly to the UConn 360 site at uconn.edu/uconn360-podcast.”
UConn 360 released their debut episode on February 21 after getting the “green light” at the end of the Fall 2017 semester, Breen said. The inspiration for the podcast came from a wish to keep up with the present popularity of this type of media.
“I think UConn 360 is important because podcasts are growing in popularity, particularly among people in their 20s and 30s – about 42 million Americans listen to at least one podcast per week, according to a study last year by Edison Research,” Breen said. “Universities have been slow to get into the podcast field, which made this seem like even more important for us – it’s good to be early to the party.
Rachel Philipson is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at rachel.philipson@uconn.edu.
