Houston Home Journal Sports launches “Beyond the Broadsheet,” a new weekly podcast

Attention, sports fans! The Houston Home Journal has just dropped a new way for the public to get the latest in local sports action, with a podcast available on all major streaming platforms. 

Beyond the Broadsheet is a weekly podcast revolving around Houston County sports that drops every Monday, featuring recaps and commentary from HHJ Sports Editor Clay Brown.

“Houston County sports fans now have another way to get the latest in high school sports and previews for upcoming games — now in an audio format that can be accessed anywhere with a phone,” HHJ Managing Editor Brieanna Smith said. “We are thrilled to use technology in a new way at the Houston Home Journal and hope the community joins us in highlighting the passion and hard work of student athletes across the county.”

The first episode dropped Monday, Aug. 12, featuring softball highlights, a preview of the upcoming week, and the county’s “Game of the Week.”

“I’d like to include more sports and additional segments eventually. It’s just a matter of getting it integrated into my regular coverage and workflow.” Brown said.

Brown was inspired to start the podcast following the footsteps of major publications.

“If you go to any sports section of a big newspaper, there’s a podcast that goes along with it. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Justin Toscano contributes to the Braves Report. The Orlando Sentinel has their sports writers contributing to podcasts,” Brown said. “While the written work will always be my most important and complete work, if the Houston Home Journal is going to become a modern news outlet, this is part of that. It’s great for my career, it’s great for the Journal, it’s great for everyone involved.”

Brown said he is thrilled to produce the podcast as the Houston Home Journal modernizes, fresh off the heels of a new website.

“I’m excited to bring this to the Houston Home Journal’s readers because we’re in the middle of becoming a modern newspaper. We finally have a website that allows us to provide daily coverage and we’re taking the next step in providing news and stories on audio platforms. It’s going to be a learning experience doing all of it by myself and making it the best it can be, but I’m super excited to get started,” Brown said.

With prior experience and software in audio production, Brown already had the tools needed, but quickly learned how much effort was needed to produce his first episode of Beyond the Broadsheet.

“I’ve done this kind of thing before. But boy, between doing research for the ‘Game of the Week,’ laying out the episode, recording it, editing it and putting it up on all sorts of different platforms, it took all day. It shouldn’t, as I move forward and get used to the workflow, but it was definitely an all-day affair,” Brown said.

As the podcast grows and gains traction, Brown said bringing guests along for the ride is a no-brainer. In the meantime, he said his written work is here to stay, and hopeful the podcast will bring a new audience to the Houston Home Journal.

“I’m fully aware there are a lot of people who don’t have much time to sit down and read something. Some people’s only free time is their commute to work in the mornings. Some people work long hours and the only way they can get the news is on audio platforms during work. Launching the podcast lets those people still be up-to-date on sports news in Houston County,” Brown said. “For those who do have the free time to read my regular coverage, the podcast is still an easy to digest way to get your information. You’ll also find some additional news and coverage that isn’t big enough to turn into a full story, but is still worth noting.”

Beyond the Broadsheet is available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and all other major streaming platforms.

Catch the first episode below: