CHULA VISTA (KGTV) — The City of Chula Vista has launched a new podcast to give residents more in-depth information about local issues, city projects, and services.
The podcast, Chula Vista CityCast, debuted last week with its first episode, Parks for the People. New episodes will be released twice a month.
John Cihomsky, the City's Chief Communications Cfficer, said the idea came to him about a month ago while watching commuters leave Chula Vista.
"I thought, 'They could all be listening to the podcast to find out what's going on with their city,'" Cihomsky said.
He said the podcast is intended to provide context on topics generating discussion online and help address misinformation circulating on social media.
"There are issues going on in the city that we want to have the opportunity to explain in more depth to the residents," Cihomsky said.
The inaugural episode focused on Hilltop Park and Eucalyptus Park, two locations that have drawn questions from residents about flooding and construction delays.
During the episode, the City's Parks and Recreation Department explained that flooding at Hilltop Park is part of the park's stormwater management design and discussed the timeline for reopening. He added that besides many concerns being addressed, construction has resumed and Hilltop Park is expected to reopen in October.
The city has plans to produce six episodes. Each episode will be 30 minutes long. The next episode in August will add video to July's inaugural episode, which is audio only. The next episode in September will focus on disaster preparedness.
According to Cihomsky, the podcast's first year will cost about $25,000, and is slated to cover just audio, not video, plus voiceover talent for the intro and the outro, studio time, editing, and video crew for the out-in-the field segments. The $25,000 is coming out of the city's marketing budget, which is $94,000.
Energy Media in Chula Vista is producing the city's podcast.
Residents can submit ideas for future episodes through the city's website and August e-newsletter.
