Mark Rees
Educator & Training Developer
Favorite Quote
"Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. The greatest problem with communication is we don’t listen to understand. We listen to reply. When we listen with curiosity, we don’t listen with the intent to reply. We listen for what’s behind the words.
- Roy T. Bennett -
Podcast Radio America
Perceptions
The definition of perception is a way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something, a mental impression. It is through this process that we build and establish our own personal value structures. These structures help us define our personal ethics, it attracts us to like-minded people, and influences each opinion we share with the world.
The idea behind the Perceptions podcast was to encourage individuals to express their beliefs and cultivate an open, yet honest dialogue between everyday people. If successful, we could create conversations that would inspire individuals to listen and think, rather than react and argue. The intent was not to sway opinions or change one's mind, the intent was to find commonality within them. Listen to episode one and two below.
The Sunday Focus Podcast
In collaboration with BH Media, the Sunday Focus was a community lifestyle section of the Sunday North Platte Telegraph Newspaper. The concept behind this project was not to simply report the happenings around the city, the objective was to tell the story about those happenings. The Sunday Focus podcast was the companion piece that allowed us to do just that. Each week we would go beyond the article, interviewing the individuals behind the story. This allowed us to deliver a perception that gave insight and depth that could not be achieved through print alone.
Below are examples of this project.
Half the Man
Since the age of nine years old, I have had a magnetic attraction to food. This attraction, or addiction, has led me down several challenging paths in my life, some darker than others. At its peak, my addiction produced a daily intake of over 12,000 calories, and a body weight of 502 pounds. I was depressed, my body was failing, and I knew the clock was ticking. Diets are propaganda, willpower is a myth, and you cannot find change in a pill. So, in 2006 I decided, it was time to look within!
Over the next 12 years, I tried multiple programs and researched hundreds of weight loss theories, taking the best from each to create a philosophy that allowed me to lose nearly three hundred pounds.
The Half the Man podcast was a six-part documentary detailing my adversarial relationship with food. I talked about my successes and failures, and how my 12-year journey taught me that it is not about the food you eat, but why you want to eat it.
Listen to my story below.
PRA Collaborations
Below are some classic podcasts I pulled from the PRA archives. These podcasts demonstrate our commitment to education, and our unwavering support for small business.
Podcast Radio America
Our first stroll down the path takes us back to the early 2000s, when my media journey began as the host of a technology radio show called Tech Savvy: The Weekend Magazine. At the time, my production team and I were searching for innovative ways to grow our listenership beyond our Southern Colorado audience.
Then, in 2005, Apple launched iTunes Podcasts, a brand new platform that allowed broadcasters to upload their programming. We saw an opportunity and began publishing our weekly show online. The response was immediate. What started as a small regional tech program quickly gained international traction, attracting listeners from around the globe.
In 2006, a completely fictional animated dog named Rex T. Cyber and I launched Podcast Radio America (PRA). In its early days, PRA specialized in creating branded marketing podcasts for businesses eager to reach digital audiences. As podcasting grew in popularity, so did we. Over the next decade, PRA produced thousands of podcasts designed to inform, engage, and educate.
Today, Rex and I continue to support the podcasting community by helping new creators bring their ideas to life and distribute their content effectively. Every so often, Rex gets an itch for something new. He’s been scratching a lot lately, so who knows what’s next. Stay tuned...
.png)