Join us for a video stream recording of TCND Episode #030!

Join us for a video stream recording of TCND Episode #028. We’ll talk about the Lord’s Prayer, listen to some audio feedback, and most likely get bombarded by our kids interrupting us.

Join us for a video stream recording of TCND Episode #027 (Catholic Podcast Plugging Podcast). We plug a ton of great Catholic podcasts you’ll want to add to your playlist.

Updated Thursday April 12, 2013 3:30pm MST/5:30pm EST – CLICK HERE TO VIEW MOST RECENT UPDATE.

A New Start – Greg and Jennifer

This blog post will hopefully serve a few different purposes:

1) To give you a quick update on what’s been happening with the Willits family, particularly for former listeners of our radio program who have not kept up with us since our show was canceled and have wondered what’s next.

2) To invite you to join us for the final leg of a months-long journey that has brought us to a brand new city, a brand new state, and a brand new start.

3) To act as an archive for our own children, so they’ll remember the challenges we’ve endured and how God has seen us through the difficult times of this past year.

Despite having become such a prominent form of media first becoming mainstream in 2004/2005, listening to podcasts still confuses many people who are used to just turning on a radio and passively listening to whatever is being broadcast.

Having recently moved from hosting a daily talk show on satellite radio and back to the world of podcasting, many of our radio listeners have been left feeling unnecessarily frustrated at their confusion as to how to even start listening to a show.

To alleviate this, I put together this short video to demystify the experience.  I sincerely hope this helps.  If there are other similar questions you may have about new media (from subscribing to a blog, creating a website, etc.), let me know and maybe I can be of assistance, even if it’s just in making videos similar to this.

It was a huge honor to recently be interviewed on The Gist, talking about two of my favorite subjects: New Media and New Evangelization.

Kudos to the folks at CatholicTV, as well as the hosts, Danielle Bean, Rachel Balducci, and Carolee McGrath for the fantastic work they do.

My segment starts at the 9:17 mark.

Also, speaking of CatholicTV, if you haven’t yet seen Mass Confusion, the Gabriel and Telly-Award winning sitcom pilot I created, co-wrote, and co-starred in for CatholicTV, you can still view it online at MassConfusionSitcom.com.

If you like what you hear, I’d love the opportunity to speak to your organization or group about either of these topics, as well as help your organization to be more effective in using New Media.

Since 2008 my wife, Jennifer, and I have hosted a 3-hour-a-day talk show on SiriusXM’s The Catholic Channel called The Catholics Next Door.  Prior to that, for several years we hosted the award-winning Rosary Army Catholic Podcast, which was the first husband/wife Catholic podcast.

Both shows were a tremendous joy for us and I believe with every ounce of my being that I’m a better person today than before I started those endeavors.

But because of family obligations and her inability to continue hosting the show in the afternoon (right when the kids got home from school), last July Jennifer had to step down from the show to step back up to being a full-time mom, and for the past three months I hosted the show solo. We knew when we made that decision that there was a good chance that in the long run, our show would no longer air on SiriusXM, and understandably so.  They have a channel to run, and though the show was still great (if I say so myself), it just wasn’t the same without Jennifer.

Last Friday (October 19, 2012), we hosted our last broadcast of The Catholics Next Door on The Catholic Channel, and it was obviously a bittersweet experience.  But we knew that because so many people had benefitted from the ministry of The Catholics Next Door, that we needed to find a way to expand it new and exciting directions that weren’t always possible with radio.  It had to continue.

We actually knew for almost an entire month that our show was going off the air, and in that time we did a lot of praying, crying, laughing, hoping, and discerning.  Part of that discernment process lead to the decision to focus my creativity, passion, skills, and experience towards producing more great audio and video content, while also helping others to be more productive and effective in their organizations and endeavors, both in faith-based initiatives, as well as more business and IT related companies.

In the midst of that, I got a little bold.  I told Jennifer that if we were going to relaunch The Catholics Next Door as a podcast, that we’d need to have a sponsor for the show from the very first episode.  If I was going to try to support the family as a freelance contractor, I couldn’t give up a day each week to do a show that would make it impossible for me to do work to support the family.

In fact, I didn’t just tell Jennifer, I told God, “Lord, if you want us to do this, You’ve got to bring us a sponsor and You’ve got to do it right away!”

Then I threw in a few caveats, just for good measure.

I can’t lie.  Just can’t do it.  If we’re going to have a sponsor, it has to be one I believe in.  It has to be one doing some level of good.  And it has to be one who gets what my wife and I try to accomplish in all of our various media endeavors.  What we do in video and audio is unique and different and we wanted a sponsor who “gets” that.

We knew our last radio broadcast was quickly approaching, and people would be asking us to start a podcast, or if we’d be moving the program to another network.  We needed an answer before our final show.

I said a prayer, wrote down some details, sent off a couple emails, and within 24 hours, we had our first sponsor for the first 12 shows: eCatholic – Catholic Websites Made Easy.

Given the geeky nature of so much of what we do, combined with our love for new media and new evangelization, God brought us a perfect first sponsor.

And while that in itself is great, what’s even better is how excited our sponsor is to be a part of a brand new, relaunched The Catholics Next Door.

Even though the first new show doesn’t launch until October 29th, our sponsor has already created a fantastic deal for our audience and friends.

But it doesn’t end there.  I just found out that not only are they sponsoring our new show (click here to subscribe for free via iTunes), but they’re running a contest this week for you to win a free copy of our book, The Catholics Next Door: Adventures in Imperfect Living!

Click here for more information on how you can win!

We’re so excited for the relaunch next week.  Our plan is for the new show to be a combination of the best of our old podcast, with the best of our radio show, all mashed up into something unique and awesome.

Oh, and if your company or organization would like to be a sponsor, drop me a line.  I’d be happy to discuss the possibility.

I’ll be the emcee this weekend at the 4th Annual Catholic New Media Conference in Kansas City and, even though Jennifer won’t be there, I’m very much looking forward to meeting listeners and hanging out with all of our good friends in Catholic New Media.

Also, it is very exciting that we’ll be premiering the pilot for our CatholicTV sitcom, “Mass Confusion”!  We’ll be showing that to attendees at 12:30PM local time at the CNMC.

If you haven’t already registered, you can register online through Wednesday at the official CNMC website, and on-site registrations will be available on the actual conference day.  Also, this year on the day before (Friday, September 30) is an additional day of training that will be offered.  If you, your parish, or diocese, want to do more with new media, you’ll want to attend this event, as well.

Over the weekend, if you’re unable to attend, you can keep up with happenings by following the Twitter hashtag #CNMC11 or via live updates on the CNMC Facebook page.

See you in Kansas City!