Pinoy podcasting from northern California

THE San Francisco Chronicle has recently launched Pinoy Pod, a podcast channel for Filipinos in the Bay Area.

Heralding the first ever podcasting venture of a major American newspaper, the Chronicle calls Pinoy Pod “a bold experiment” and promises to connect the newspaper “very powerfully,” not only to the vibrant Filipino community in northern California, but “throughout the country and overseas.”

In its first podcast, Pinoy Pod airs poet Joey Ayala‘s Tagalog version of America’s national anthem (and a couple of reactions to the tune.) The second segment is an interview with comedian Rex Navarette, who talks about his new sitcom, “Rex and the City.”

Podcasting, while still in its infancy, is stirring the online community, giving people who like audio a fresh alternative to radio. PCIJ has also recently launched its own channel.

Pinoy Pod producers say the podcasts will cover various topics such as culture and the arts, entertainment, business, as well as political and social issues. The podcasts will be in either English or Tagalog, or another Philippine language.

The episodes, each lasting from 10 to 20 minutes, will air every Tuesday.

Pinoy Pod is one of the Chronicle’s over 20 podcasting channels and has some of the paper’s most experienced journalists, including deputy managing editor Leslie Guevarra, editorial writer and columnist Pati Poblete, podcast producer Benny Evangelista, reporter Cicero Estrella, and business reporter and Pinoy Pod producer Ben Pimentel.

Pimentel is also the host of the podcast channel, “Kuwento Kuwento.”

Visit Pinoy Pod.