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There was a lot of confusion over what the roles were going to be.
We were very much making it up as we went along.
We were just trying to keep up with production, and we were super understaffed.
But those gains didnt last for long.
According to the letter, CNE then abruptly outsourcedThe Pitchfork Reviewpodcast to an external production firm.
Its former staffers were told that they could either leave the company or find a place on theGet WIREDteam.
Shortly thereafter, theIn Voguepodcast team learned their jobs would be terminated as well.
That will forever be what sticks in my head, said Lubin.
When I asked Gaensler-Debs how she feels about the experience now, she didnt hesitate with her response.
Its vague in a way that serves everyone except for the makers, the producers.
Like I made it.
I set that up.
I told them where to put it and how to fade it.
We love this job, Dutes continued.
We love it through abuse.
We love it through racial reckonings.
We love it through unfair wages.
We love making audio, right?
And because of that, a lot of folks have been taken advantage of.
But there remains a sense that these stories are exceptions that prove the rule.
(There have been some relationships forged between SAG and fiction podcast creators, but thats adifferent story.)
I think that people are more and more open [to this idea], said Dutes.
Industry-wide use of ambiguous job descriptions is further complicated by the invisibility of producers within the creations themselves.
Despite all this, his program for the producer role was rejected.
However, eight months later, the proverbial needle hadnt moved.
Around this time, Vice approached Quevedo with an offer to be a producer, and he accepted.
(Hes currently producing a six-part investigative series over there.)
Were in an industry that has this influx of money, right?
And I suspect that people are just looking for people who can get the job done.
I pressed Quevedo a little harder on the point, and he eventually hazarded a guess.
I suppose the two teams looked at my experience and saw two different things.
The other group saw it as, wow, hes been doing this since he was a teenager!
Quevedo offered a final thought.
They need to invest in helping develop them.
I do think thats how we improve the industry as a whole.
Previously, that show had been distributed by Westwood One.
(Quick disclaimer to note Vulture is aNewYorkMagazine brand, which is a Vox Media property.
Russian doll, and so on.)
Im not putting too much stock in this, but its worth noting nonetheless.
Dig into the Pitchfork piece for more details on this.
Still feels really messy.
Extra points if said chef tells a story or two along the way.
Theres some technical innovation involved here.
There is a diversity of use cases within the shows audience, which is modest but growing.
Does this reflect poorly on the original conceit?
Lee, for one, doesnt think so.
(The desktop version of the shows Spotify page is somewhat messily formatted.
It looks sharper on mobile.)
But, again, what excited me about this originally was its pragmatic potential.
Im personally still rooting for this to take hold purely for its utility, and I think it can.
