From Print to Podcast: Embracing the Digital Evolution of T&D World

This Gen-X editor resisted what we called “new media” for a long time. I grew up and went to school to learn how to write and edit for print. But just like our energy industry, the nature of delivering information to help you do your job has changed too. I was the first “online editor” for T&D World, taking over all of the digital media for the magazine including the web articles and “e-newsletters.”

Regardless, when COVID came around we found ourselves in front of cameras: first, for staff meetings, then webinars picked up. We did have editors who were more comfortable with video and other outlets before then. Editor-in-Chief Rick Bush did some short videos from time to time, and we had a contributor named Jim Dukart, who filmed various linework and installation procedures (and narrated them) for our popular "T&D How" video series.

But I managed to stay out of the spotlight as long as I could. Alas, as the appetite for how people want to receive content broadened and changed, so did I. T&D World now regularly hosts webinars and webchats moderated by editors, and we participate in forums and discussions with other Endeavor Business Media brands. And look for us to do more video projects as the year progresses, as we hope to make some videos at industry events and potentially host some roundtable discussions ourselves.

Podcast Paradise

One type of media I have come to appreciate is podcasting. This doesn’t always involve video, although it can be integrated. But it’s a fun, easy way to bring content to you in an audio format. I am sure many of you know what podcasts are, but I will give you a little background here. They aren’t as new as you might think. They are like a radio talk show to a certain extent, except they are put into sharable sessions or “episodes.”

Podcasts, which used to be called "audioblogs," go back to the 1980s. But it wasn’t until broadband internet and portable music players — like the iPod — came along that podcasting really took off in late 2004. Fast forward to today, and there are over 115,000 English-language podcasts out there, with plenty of platforms making it easy (and often free) for creators to share their content and for listeners to tune in.

T&D World launched our first podcast in 2021 covering the line trade. Our fabulous field editor Amy Fischbach created it with the intention of featuring the men and women on the front lines of maintaining and restoring electricity. The message for the audience is “Whether you're heading to a job site, tackling storm restoration, or just unwinding after a long day, you can tune in to hear stories about storm recovery, best practices in line work, and the incredible men and women in the trade.”

The podcast has won multiple business-to-business media awards and is now up to weekly releases. We have featured apprentices, journeymen and arborists. We had a national labs guest: Peter Fuhr of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory exploring the drone research underway at ORNL. We also had workers from Duke Energy talk about their experience after Hurricane Helene, one of the more recent storms. And if you don’t have time to pick up the magazine and read it, we also feature audio versions of some of our more popular articles dealing with utility operations. To catch a few of the episodes, visit https://linelife.podbean.com/.

I am also excited to announce the recent launch of T&D World Live, our podcast for the T&D audience that will delve into critical issues, emerging trends, and groundbreaking projects shaping the electric power-delivery landscape.

Our second episode is probably going to be one of my favorites: Senior Editor Christina Marsh hosted Technical Editor Gene Wolf and our Editor-in-Chief “emeritus” Rick Bush for a discussion on the history of T&D World’s leadership in the industry, as well as the challenges and innovations shaping the future of the electricity industry. They reflect on the evolution of transmission, the rise of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology, and the integration of renewables and storage into the grid.

“There's an element of chaos, but my experience with all the years I've been in the industry is that innovation always outlasts resistance. So, resistance is essentially futile,” Rick says. And Gene follows up with talking about how the combustion engine was developed as an “antipollution device. The pollution was the horse.” Anyway, there are some gems in there if you want to check it out at: https://tanddworld.podbean.com/.

Then I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Elizabeth Cook, vice president of Technical Strategy for Association of Edison Illuminating Companies, to explore the transformation of the power grid and the crucial role of integrated system planning. Elizabeth is interesting to talk to; she is full of industry knowledge, having worked at Duquesne Light Company for seven years in system planning and grid modernization. She hosts her own podcast called the Grid Mod Pod and is also a mindset coach and literally full of all kinds of wisdom. She is featured in our third episode.

Share with us what other podcasts you like listening to. When you ask people what their favorite podcasts are, you will get all kinds of different answers: there are podcasts to cover everything you can imagine.