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Podcasting becomes another Edwards first

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Mark Woodbury
  • 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
An Air Force Materiel Command base became the first to offer news updates through podcasting on the public Web site Oct. 14.

At Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., podcasting, a method of publishing audio broadcasts via the Internet, allows users to subscribe to a feed of MP3 files.

These feeds deliver audio broadcasts to a computer desktop, and the public can listen to these files on their computer or load them onto a portable MP3 player.

Second Lt. Brad Kimberly, 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs chief of community relations, said he came up with the idea to offer podcasts while he was downloading a commentary podcast of a TV show he enjoys watching. He said he thought it would be a good idea to use the same technology to bring Edwards newscasts to a wider audience.

"First, we are going to offer our newscasts on a weekly basis via the podcast," Lieutenant Kimberly said. "In the future, we plan to offer video podcasts and also podcasts for special events like the Edwards Open House and Air Show."

Captain Catie Hague, 95th ABW Public Affairs chief, said she is excited to bring Edwards' story to a whole new technologically-minded audience.

"We are using new media to reach an unprecedented audience, with an emphasis on our younger listeners and viewers," Captain Hague said. "Podcasting is just one more way for Edwards to share its unique, flight test mission with the American people."

To take advantage of podcasts, people must first obtain an application that can manage podcast subscriptions. Some of the more widely available podcast application software can be found by going to the Web site www.edwards.af.mil/news/ and clicking on the "podcasts" button. A list of software is located on the bottom right-hand-side of the page.

Once the podcast software is installed, the user can subscribe to podcasts of their choosing. To subscribe to the Edwards newscasts, users should type the Web site URL www.edwards.af.mil/archive/podcasts/podcast.xml into the podcasting software of their choosing. The software will then automatically check the podcast for updates and download any new content.