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Axed Guardian Media Talk podcast producer takes less than a month to gather year-long funding

By William Turvill

The producer of The Guardian’s weekly Media Talk podcast has taken less than a month to crowdfund his way to  £9,000 to keep the programme going for a year.

The podcast, along with the Music Weekly audio show, was axed by The Guardian at the end of May.

Producer Matt Hill announced plans on 13 June to raise £9,000 in donations to keep the podcast going for a year under The Media Podcast name.

And, according to his crowdfunding page on Kickstarter, Hill met this target three days ago.

He has already broadcast six editions of the half-hour show and the funding will go towards paying him and a presenter to continue it on a fortnightly basis for a year.

Asked by Press Gazette last month whether The Guardian’s decision to axe Media Talk was an indication that podcasts have had their day, Hill said: “Actually I think we are seeing a resurgence in the medium.

“In the States we are seeing programmes going out to significant numbers.

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“It is all about being able to receive content at a time that suits you.”

The Media Talk podcast is just the latest orowdfunding project to celebrate success in recent months. 

Blogger Peter Jukes used crowdfunding to enable him to cover the eight-month hacking trial, raising more than £20,000 in total.

In December, the editorial team behind a new computer magazine, Linux Voice, celebrated securing £90,000 investment on the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform.

And in March, via the same website, pro-independence website Wings Over Scotland crowdfunded £100,000 in the space of a couple of weeks.

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