The Open Stories Foundation would like to further the progress of the Mormon podcast conversation through affiliating with independently produced podcasts. We recognize that many of our community members are interested in joining the podcast conversation and have the ability to produce interesting, informative and entertaining content. The following guidelines have been developed so that anyone interested in hosting an OSF-affiliated podcast may apply. The OSF would like to both develop community members’ abilities and increase the availability of quality Mormon-themed podcasts by providing training, marketing, brand affiliation, web support, technical support, programming support, and long-term archival preservation.
All Open Stories Foundation affiliated podcasts must:
- Align with the Mormon Stories Shared Values Statement
- Align with the Mormon Stories Mission to 1) support individuals in Mormon-related faith crises, 2) save marriages, 3) heal families, and 4) celebrate, challenge, and advance Mormon culture in healthy ways
- Strive to be a productive voice within Mormonism
- Strive to appeal to a broad audience
- Strive to maintain a balanced tone in hopes that neither believers nor unbelievers will feel attacked when listening
- Focus on the stories of guests rather than hosts; hosts should work to remove their own biases from the interviewing process
Each affiliated podcast must have a single project manager who:
- Supports and strives to represent the Mormon Stories Shared Values and the Mormon Stories Mission
- Is responsible, at the end of the day, for the quality and production of the podcast
- Is committed to overseeing the podcast for a minimum of one year (52 episodes)
Project managers should also consider putting together a team of advisors, researchers, hosts, producers, technicians and supporters to help administer the podcast.
Podcasts must:
- Maintain a weekly release schedule
- Release on the web and via iTunes
- Advertise through OSF Facebook assets
- Be of high audio quality; hosts and guests must use quality microphones
- Include OSF-approved opening and closing bumpers that promote the foundation’s overall objectives
- Use an OSF-approved logo
- Be hosted on an OSF-approved, owned and controlled domain name
All applications should include:
- Name of podcast project manager (must be one individual)
- Proposed podcast title
- Proposed podcast URL/domain name (i.e. http://www.podcastname.org)
- Short description of podcast to include proposed purpose, theme and audience
- If applicable, an initial list of team members to include specific team member roles
- A list of the first 25 episodes
- Brief proposed guidelines for a logo design
Before a podcast can go live:
- Podcast proposal must be approved
- 4 episodes must be recorded, produced, and reviewed
Financial Agreement:
Donations made to the podcast will go directly to the podcast team for a one-year period. After the first year, financial terms will be reassessed in a manner that is agreeable to all parties.
Application Process:
Project managers may apply via this form. Once you have submitted your application, please email us at mormonstories@gmail.com. Individuals interested in being on a podcast support team who would like to be connected with a project manager may volunteer via this form.
Targeted Podcast Themes:
We are specifically looking to produce podcasts with the following themes:
- A weekly Mormon-themed news panel/round table (using Left, Right and Center as a model)
- A weekly Sunday School/Gospel Doctrine discussion
- Mormon Women’s Stories
- Mormon LGBT Stories
- Exploration of Tough Topics (whymormonsquestion.org)
- Faithful Mormon Stories
- Ex-Mormon Stories
- Mormon Apologetics (done differently than FAIR/FARMS)
- Mormon History
- Mormon Stories podcasts hosted in Swedish, German, Japanese, Spanish or Portuguese. Hosts should be native speakers and should live outside of the United States.
Please feel free to apply to start a podcast on any theme of your choice. The above list is not intended to be comprehensive.
Ownership of Content:
All content produced for Mormon Stories and Mormon Matters is owned by the Open Stories Foundation. John Dehlin does not own the Mormon Stories podcast and Dan Wotherspoon does not own the Mormon Matters podcast. Likewise, all other OSF affiliated podcasts (audio, video, blog text, website domains, logos and Facebook assets) will remain the property of the foundation.
