Podcast help, advice, interest, and participation wanted.

[G.A. Heath]

I have been working on my Open Carry Report Podcast since February, and as time goes on I have noticed a problem becoming more and more pronounced. That problem is any link between Texas and Open Carry is Toxic due to actions of a certain groups, one with those three words in their name. I have had a number of potential guests flat out tell me they do not want to risk any association with OCT and some have even assumed the podcast was OCT's just because of the similar names. And that folks is the short version.

The Open Carry Report has to change or it will not remain viable due to the toxic similarity of it's name, and the fact it's purpose is to promote legal open carry especially in Texas. I still want to "Niche Down" but at the same time expand the topics covered so I have decided to rebrand and repurpose the Open Carry Report as the new "Gun Rights In Texas" Podcast.

What I need to get your help, interest, advice, and even participation with is multifaceted.

First: What do you want to hear about?
Second: Who do you want to hear from?
Third: Live shows will be done from time to time, would you call in?
Fourth: Who would be possibly interested in even guest hosting from time to time or part/full time co-hosting?
Fifth: Taking a step back from above, who might be interested in producing a segment or such on a regular or intermittent basis?
Sixth: I have an idea that needs to be done, and I need as many people as I can get to help on this one. I will give it a paragraph below.

Alice Tripp (our TSRA rep), Tara Mica (Our NRA rep), and our very own Charles Cotton do a lot of work with very little in the way of thanks. I want to use the voicemail system I have in place for the Open Carry Report (It still says Open Carry Report when you call in) to get you to call and say something to the effect of:

Code: Select all

I am [u]Your First Name here[/u] from [u]your county or city here[/u] and I want to let Alice Tripp, Tara Mica, and Charles Cotton know that I am grateful for everything they have done for gun rights and I will support their efforts in the future.

The voicemail number is: (409) 292-6736 NOTE: it may want to ring quite a few times before going to voicemail.

I will take any voice mail along those lines and add them to the first episode of Gun Rights In Texas Then I will send a link to Charles and ask him to forward it to Alice Tripp and Tara Mica.

So what do you want to hear about, who do you want to hear from, and how much participation can I get from you?

[dicion]

Some of my answers in-line

First: What do you want to hear about?

News: Direct news relating to firearms in Texas over the past week/whatever. Proposed changes, people defending themselves, etc. All the major Gun-related news that actually matters, not just the crap the news puts up for ratings. Calls to action, upcoming laws, etc.
Equipment: New stuff that's coming out, discussions over what people think are better for certain purposes. Self-Defense on a budget ideas, etc.
Discussions over laws/things that happened/how could things have been done differently, what would you do in a scenario, etc.

Second: Who do you want to hear from?

Everyday people. Do on-the-spot interviews at gun ranges. Find out what people Think is true vs what Really is true. Go out and educate people, ask them what they currently believe is illegal, and engage in a discussion with them over what actually is illegal.
Experts. People who know about Self Defense. People that have been in the situation.
Converts. People who once were anti-gun, and their story as to how they changed, how they recommend discussing the issue to help people understand the reality.

Third: Live shows will be done from time to time, would you call in?

Meh, maybe. Probably not.

[G.A. Heath]

Thanks for the input, I expected more input, and more help in Saying thank you. One thing I think contributing to this is I had to hunt to find this because I thought I posted this in another forum. My apologies for that.

[gljjt]

Just saw this. Called and left a message.

[G.A. Heath]

Thanks! I feel that these three deserve all the warm fuzzy feelings we can send their way.

[gljjt]

Thanks! I feel that these three deserve all the warm fuzzy feelings we can send their way.

Absolutely agree.

[G.A. Heath]

So a friend of mine took the old podcast cover art/logo, and used elements from it as a basis for the new one:

One of the key considerations was to make it look good when used as the profile photo on the google plus page and to pay homage to the old one. I have to say he did much better than I had hoped. Best of all it's all in Texas, keeping with the name of the podcast. He was the first person to know what was going on with the rebranding effort, and Charles was the second I informed of it.

Some other suggestions that got suggested were to put the AR in place of Oklahoma or have the Sig "holstered" in the panhandle. Another one would have been to go with a more vibrant color scheme, although I feel the black and white with red URL just pops and it stands out when viewed with other album art in iTunes.

[Beiruty]

How about change your website name and brand to TexasGunRights.com as in TexasCHLforum.com
Also, you can drop the http:// all Browsers can do without it.

[Beiruty]

Also plan on having "gun reviews at range" videos and interview videos too. Also talk about rifle as well as pistol.

[The Annoyed Man]

How about change your website name and brand to TexasGunRights.com as in TexasCHLforum.com
Also, you can drop the http:// all Browsers can do without it.

It already exists: http://www.texasgunrights.com/

However, I see that one George Heath has snapped up "gunrightsintexas.com" http://who.is/whois/gunrightsintexas.com.

G.A. Heath, well played.

[G.A. Heath]

How about change your website name and brand to TexasGunRights.com as in TexasCHLforum.com
Also, you can drop the http:// all Browsers can do without it.

TexasGunRights.com was the first domain I considered, but as pointed out above it was not available. My buddy who redid the album art asked "What is the show going to be about when you finish transitioning?" I told him "Basically it's going to be about Gun Rights in Texas." to which he responded "see if that is taken." The http:// is still in the album art as a long standing joke, it was in the Open Carry Report album art, and it is one we refer from time to time.

Most of the transition to the new name has been completed, I am still working on some odds and ends and hope to do the first show under the rebranding this weekend. So please read the OP and call in and help me say thank you to the three people in Texas Gun Rights who deserve it the most.

[RKirkwood]

Currently I listen to 2 different gun related Podcast. One is about 3 hours long with an additional 45minute after show which is national. The other is Texas based but often rambles off topic and 45 -60 minutes.

It would be great to listen to a show that covers Texas issues and stays on topic. The national show has gun rights, range reports and covers shooting sports (hunting & target).

[G.A. Heath]

Currently I listen to 2 different gun related Podcast. One is about 3 hours long with an additional 45minute after show which is national. The other is Texas based but often rambles off topic and 45 -60 minutes.

It would be great to listen to a show that covers Texas issues and stays on topic. The national show has gun rights, range reports and covers shooting sports (hunting & target).

I am pretty sure I know the national show, it's actually a nationally syndicated radio program broken into three parts plus the aftershow (A recent addition) with occasional "bonus material" released. If you don't mind could I get you to PM me the name of the other show that gets off topic?

[Salty1]

GA, I hope this does not offend you as it is not meant to and I appreciate your posts on this forum as they are always well thought out.

Personally I could care less about OC at this point, OCT has made me this way and the last thing I want to see is it pass and have them screaming that they were the ones who accomplished it. We all know that is exactly what will happen, I will not utter a word against OC but I will also not openly support it due to the items you mentioned above about being associated with OCT.

I do not believe that having a website and or podcast that primarily is about OC will get much traction. If it was about firearms in general with CHL and ownership issues thrown in that is another story, then I would want to listen to and read about in my spare time. I fully agree that Charles, Alice etc. do not get enough credit and thanks for what they do and try to accomplish on our behalf. Personally my skin is not thick enough to take the bashing that they receive so we could never give them enough kudos. Thankfully they are aware of the support and backing they have from us.

I am most likely in the minority on this topic/position and wanted to give you an idea on what some of the avid gun and CHL people may be feeling on this topic. I do wish you success in your endeavor.

[G.A. Heath]

GA, I hope this does not offend you as it is not meant to and I appreciate your posts on this forum as they are always well thought out.

Personally I could care less about OC at this point, OCT has made me this way and the last thing I want to see is it pass and have them screaming that they were the ones who accomplished it. We all know that is exactly what will happen, I will not utter a word against OC but I will also not openly support it due to the items you mentioned above about being associated with OCT.

I do not believe that having a website and or podcast that primarily is about OC will get much traction. If it was about firearms in general with CHL and ownership issues thrown in that is another story, then I would want to listen to and read about in my spare time. I fully agree that Charles, Alice etc. do not get enough credit and thanks for what they do and try to accomplish on our behalf. Personally my skin is not thick enough to take the bashing that they receive so we could never give them enough kudos. Thankfully they are aware of the support and backing they have from us.

I am most likely in the minority on this topic/position and wanted to give you an idea on what some of the avid gun and CHL people may be feeling on this topic. I do wish you success in your endeavor.

That is the thing that led to this, the fact that OCT has turned anything relating to OC and Texas toxic is the reason for rebranding and reformatting the podcast. The podcast has to change or it becomes entirely pointless. Coverage of OC will happen when there is news to note, however there are more issues that are far less toxic that need to be addressed.

You would be shocked at how many potential guests (and who they were) happened to be interested in being on the podcast until I explained the podcast was aimed at results in Texas while still appealing to a nation wide audience. Once I got to Texas all interest suddenly became "No I don't think I can be on your show, I can't afford to be associated with OCT." What makes that even worse is that this was before OCT found itself loving statements like "Let's hope they never catch him." and "If you hit the right spot, you only have to replace one bullet and the perp will drop like a rock immediately and automatically assume a position that makes it easier to stuff them into a coffin."

Before the podcast was about OC, now it is going to be about more when the next episode is released. OCT, and others, have caused so much damage that people are not aware of and I can not go into detail about that you would be amazed. If I am to keep the podcast interesting then it has to be about something other than OC, and OC has to be limited to just what is new and notable. Before it was OC only, now it will be about more and OC will be handled with hazmat gear. I wish I could tell you what made the decision necessary but out of respect for the other party in that conversation I can not.