In March, iHeartMedia and Seneca Women, a global women's leadership platform, launched "Seneca Women to Hear: The Search For the Next Great Female Podcasters" to help amplify the voices of women in podcasting. Now, the search has come to an end and The Seneca Women Podcast Academy will help ten winners develop and launch their own shows on the Seneca Women Podcast Network, distributed by iHeartMedia.
The winners of the "Seneca Women to Hear: The Search For the Next Great Female Podcasters" were announced during a Special Edition of the iHeartPodcast Speaker Series.
The winning show ideas span across comedy, health, finance and social justice issues, among others, and include "The Oh My God Particle Show!" hosted by Dahlia Wilde, "Cashing Our Trillions" hosted by Yvonne So, "Memory Whisperer" hosted by Dana Territo, "My Vagina Said What?" hosted by Kris McDaniel and Andi Gordon, "Your Financial Maven" hosted by Samantha Mittman Besnoff, "Latinas Take the Lead" hosted by Naibe Reynoso, "Uppity Knitter" hosted by Siedah Garrett, "Hallmark Junkies" hosted by Jennifer Mitchell and Kerri Carpenter, "FIN: Females In Podcast" hosted by Lola Omolola, and "Aces Are Wild" hosted by Maddy Goshorn.
These winners will experience a six-week intensive program, kicking off in May, that will include one lecture per week with direct access to industry-leading mentors who are all women at the top of their respective fields in podcasting. The mentors include Jo Piazza, award-winning journalist and host of shows like "Under the Influence" and "Committed," Bridget Todd, activist, podcast host of "There Are No Girls On The Internet" and CEO of Unbossed Creative, a mission-driven creative studio that makes podcasts and other digital content to push the needle on social change and public good, and Dana Schwartz, a writer, author and journalist who hosts the popular podcast "Noble Blood," among others.
"iHeartMedia is proud to say that 50 percent of our new shows over the past 12 months are hosted by women. We want to continue that growth and we believe starting the Seneca Women Podcast Academy is an exciting next step toward changing the makeup of podcasting," says Will Pearson, Chief Operating Officer of the iHeart Podcast Network. "These ten shows will only bolster our platform and we're thrilled to offer these creators the space and support to become the next generation of influential podcasters."
"If we want women to part of designing our future, women’s voices need to be heard and women creators need to be supported," says Kim Azzarelli, co-founder of Seneca Women, "which is why we are thrilled to announce the 10 winners of Seneca Women to Hear and to be partnering with iHeartMedia to make sure their voices get heard."