The Chron Pod is here - Oldham’s weekly news round up!

Today (Wednesday) launches the collaboration between the Oldham Chronicle and Kupod to bring you the first edition of the Chron Pod, a new weekly podcast featuring local people, businesses and community organisations. 

Every week the team, along with local guests and members of the public, can share their thoughts on the stories from last week's news (yes - the good, the bad and the ugly!).

We are also asking for their ideas on how to improve the town and how they think Oldham can thrive.

The show is hosted and produced by Matt Dean from KUPOD Productions, Oldham’s only podcast production company.

Matt said: “I’ve wanted to venture into the local news space for a while now and approached the Chron early in the summer to see if there was an opportunity to collaborate and I’m delighted that we’re up and running.

"Like the team at the Chron, I’m a passionate believer in independent, local news by local people, for local people and I hope that this podcast will be an important part of Oldham’s news future in the way that the print copy was in the past.”

Matt is no stranger to reporting on Oldham, in particular Oldham Athletic.

He launched the award winning Boundary Park Alert System podcast from his then home in Dublin, Ireland in 2020.

The podcast, which is now in its sixth season, has evolved into We Are Oldham - A Dedicated Fan Media Channel, featuring the podcast, a live YouTube Phone In show and fanzine. 

“I’ve learned that people want to get involved with things they are passionate about,” Matt added.

“I have a team of around ten people helping me out with the Latics stuff now and I hope the same thing will apply for the Chron Pod.

"People care a lot about Oldham and I personally believe that accurate local news and good journalism are more important than ever, so I’m really happy to be working with Amy Kohl from Kohr Studio on this, her marketing expertise will hopefully help us reach lots of listeners across the borough.”

Susan Pownall, from the Oldham Chronicle, said “The Oldham Chronicle has been sharing local news since 1854, we are a very small team of local people that want to keep the history and love of the Oldham Chronicle alive.

"So many people we speak to tell us they love ‘the Chron’ and wished it was still printed and even still have newspaper clippings saved by parents, grandparents and even great-grandparents 

"The truth is even though we would love to still be able to send out printed copies to our readers we cannot, mainly due to the economical, digital and even political landscape of the town and the future of the way news is shared.  

"We have loyal readers and a huge following on our website and social media pages, and believe a podcast with local people at its heart is the next best step for us and for Oldham.”

Our first edition features the “views on the news” from members of the public in Oldham town centre and guest co-host Miranda Parker from Dare To Know Theatre. 

If you would like to be a guest speaker, ask us any questions about local news or would like us to discuss a particular topic, please email: chronpod@gmail.com

You can listen here and download from Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

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Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.