Jim Prather of the Las Vegas Review-Journal
Jim Prather of the Las Vegas Review-Journal

Better News: Las Vegas Review-Journal bets big on Mobbed Up podcast

In 2020, the Las Vegas Review-Journal launched Mobbed Up, an 11-part podcast series examining the role organized crime played in the rise of Las Vegas. The idea behind Mobbed Up was to grow audience and revenue for the paper. The Better News Initiative recently spotlighted the Review-Journal’s successful foray into narrative podcasting.

As Mobbed Up’s creators put the finishing touches on its upcoming second season, Jim Prather, the Review-Journal’s executive director of programming, spoke to Michael O’Connell for the Better News podcast.

Show Note: In September 2019, Better News interviewed Joni Deutsch about Amplifier, a biweekly podcast produced by WFAE in Charlotte, North Carolina. Amplifier focuses on the region’s diverse music scene.

The Better News podcast is a partnership between It’s All Journalism and the American Press Institute to a) showcase innovative/experimental ideas that emerge from the  Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund and b) share replicable strategies and tactics that benefit the news industry as a whole. Sign up for the Better News newsletter to receive news about the latest resources, case studies, and insights. For more news about the It’s All Journalism podcast and future episodes of Better News, sign up for the weekly IAJ newsletter.

More Episodes

It's All Journalism host Michael O'Connell speaks during an April 5 panel sponsored by Humanities DC. Also on the panel are, from left, moderator Jill Olmsted of American University; Alicia Montgomery of NPR's Morning Edition; and Mary Nichols of the FuseBox Radio Broadcast.

300. The who, what and where of podcasting

The District of Columbia’s rich landscape of podcasting was on display Thursday, April 5, as It’s All Journalism host Michael O’Connell joined Mary Nichols of the FuseBox Radio Broadcast and Alicia Montgomery of NPR’s Morning Edition and Code Switch, for a panel on podcasting.

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317. Making access to public records a public priority

Frank LoMonte, director of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida, joins producer Michael O’Connell to take a look at the role public records play in advancing public policy and why this is an “opportune” moment for the general population to support journalists’ fight for transparency.

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