The Southland App is today excited to announce the launch of a new weekly podcast – The Outlet Southland, adding a new and entertaining dimension to its already popular digital news and information platform.

The podcast initiative is the result of a collaboration between The Southland App, Wānaka App, Queenstown App and Central App, which are sharing resources to enable them to produce independent weekly podcast broadcasts that collectively give a unique voice to southern New Zealand.

Hosted by broadcasting veteran Brent Harbour, the 20 to 30-minute weekly programmes have a radio style to them, featuring two or three key interviews coupled with snippets of useful news and information.

Singer-songwriter Jenny Mitchell. Photo: Supplied

The Outlet Southland will officially launch at 4pm on Friday, 24th February, and be accessible via a dedicated button on your Southland App. It will also be available on other popular podcast hosting networks.

The first edition features an interview with trans-Tasman solo kayaker Richard Barnes who made landfall in Riverton on Monday after an extraordinary 67 days at sea.

We also chat to singer-songwriter Jenny Mitchell about her burgeoning career, her work, and returning to her roots for the 10-day Tussock Country Music Festival starting in Gore on the 26th of May.

The Southland App was launched in June 2019 and has registered more than 41,000 downloads.

With between 15,000 and 20,000 unique users every month – 95% of them being local – it is estimated the Southland App regularly connects with over 25% of the Southland smartphone market.

Content is also shared on The Southland App’s social media channels.

It is free to download and can also be accessed online at www.southlandapp.nz

Owned and produced by Advocate Communications, The Outlet provides yet another channel to tell the Southland story, complementing The Southland App mobile phone and online platforms.

Advocate Communications is owned by David and Kirsty Pickett, and previously published the multi award-winning weekly community newspaper Advocate South (formerly the Fiordland Advocate) before its closure during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown.

The Outlet is made possible with support from the Public Interest Journalism Fund.