Charisma Media has added a new distribution source to further spread Christian content. Within the past few weeks, the Charisma Podcast Network has launched several faith-based shows with content attractive to people of all walks of life.
“We are thrilled to offer our audience a new way to consume our content,” says Steve Strang, founder and chief executive officer of Charisma Media. “For the last 40 years we have remained on the cutting edge of distribution methods for Christian news and feature stories. We realize that our readers are highly mobile and look forward to receiving our content on their smartphones.”
In addition to Charisma magazine, the company publishes Ministry Today and Christian Retailing. Several years ago, Charisma Media began distributing their content through websites and electronically delivered newsletters. In any given month more than 3.1 million unique visitors view our websites to find the latest news, ministry encouragement and inspiring testimonies. Our 51 newsletters reach more than 530,000 people with stories about what God is doing in the world and in the lives of His people.
Our journey in remaining cutting edge with our online presence has led us to consider the vast potential in podcasting. The podcasting industry is enjoying a revitalization on the heels of recent successes with podcasts produced by NPR and specifically WBEZ’s “This American Life.” One podcast in particular, “Serial,” was the fastest podcast to reach the 5 million download milestone.
According to the Pew Research Center, podcast listening doubled between 2008 and 2015. The research indicated that those who have “listened to a podcast within the past month” currently exceed 17 percent of Americans aged 17 and older. The Charisma Podcast Network (CPN) will produce many different programs to supply quality Christian content to the company’s loyal following. The first podcast to launch will be the “Charisma News.” The news product will be fueled by Charisma News content available online. Online content will be reformatted for podcast through the use of storytelling. The Charisma Podcast News segment will consist of one news story, well told, on a daily basis.
A second podcast titled “Charisma Connection” will feature an in-depth interview with a newsmaker or book author. Our publisher, Steve Strang, will join the network with his popular “The Strang Report” on a weekly basis.
Popular writer and Charisma News Editor Jennifer LeClaire will host her own podcast entitled “Walking in the Spirit.” I will be hosting a leadership podcast, “Greenelines,” which is based on my blog.
Other podcasts scheduled to be released this summer include “Javelin,” a faith-based sports talk show, “SpiritLed Woman” and “Charisma Life Stories.” Podcasts from pastors and ministries are planned for future release.
Dr. Steve Greene is the executive vice president of the media group at Charisma Media.
