Our very own CEO took a trip down memory last week visiting her old campus at Leeds Trinity to speak at their Journalism and Media Week.
Read moreKaren’s session entitled “Queen of the Podcast” covered her amazing career trajectory from starting Folded Wing from her flat over 16 years ago, producing Gilles Peterson’s weekly radio show, (and setting up his Worldwide Awards), responding to Jamie Cullum’s insistence that he’d only join the BBC if she produced the programme, which Folded Wing have for nearly 15 years. Her determination to ensure BBC Radio 2 had a weekly hip hop show eventually paid off with Romesh Ranganathan’s ARIA Gold-winning For The Love of Hip Hop in its third series.
Folded Wing were the first podcast company creating branded content in the UK. Karen revealed how the company has continued to create top-flight audio for international platforms as well as podcasts and audiobooks for Fabric, Nike, Reebok, Bowers & Wilkins, HarperCollins and many more.
Karen had this to say about her time at Leeds Trinity:
“They (Leeds) asked me to come in celebration of the Fellowship from The Radio Academy I received last year. It was a very proud moment. It was the first time I came back to campus for 24 years and the memories wow! I was there from 1996-98 studying Media & Business Management.
I chose this particular course as it offered work experience – just not in the holidays like most other places. This meant I could still do all the part time jobs I needed to do to help on the money side. Going back and seeing it made so much sense in so many ways. What a warm and welcoming place with the biggest sense of community. The memories of friendships and being away from home for the first time came flooding back. Thanks to the Leeds Alumni for looking after me and for the tour.
I had some special people in my year, Steph Busari who runs CNN for Africa & Nick Hodgson of the kaiser chiefs but I had no idea Richie Anderson from BBC R2 and Yard Act Band were also students! Thanks to Beth for a great interview & keeping me on track and the amazing students I met who had so much passion for radio and podcasting”
