Morris Media Studios gives the community a voice

**Hosts Jamal Jones and Patricia Diggs (center) have a conversation with guest A. Lenise Kouture at “The Town Hall Cafe,” which is recorded at Morris Media Studios.**

By Megan Reed

Major television networks and radio stations have been utilizing podcasts for a couple decades now, but locals, community leaders, and business owners do not have to work for a large media company to get on the airwaves.

Morris Media Studios is making it easy for anybody to host an Internet radio show.

“I like to say that Morris Media Studio is giving the community a voice,” said Felicia "The Poetess" Morris, owner of Morris Media Studios. “We do live audio and video podcasting, we do voice overs, and we hold workshops here to teach people how to podcast. We have over 20 podcasts here, and we’re working to build a Black talk network.”

The podcasts recorded at Morris Media Studios cover many topics, including sports, comedy, business, and community events. People can lease time to broadcast on their own Internet platform, or the podcasts can be broadcast on Morris Media Studios’ website.

The most popular podcasts are “The G Spot,” hosted by comedians Precious & Kamira, and “In a Man’s World,” hosted by comedians Lewis Dix, Jeff Arnold, and TDP. “The BusinessZone” with Crystal Mitchell and Gilbert Buchanan gives entrepreneurs business tips, and “Town Hall Cafe,” hosted by Patricia Diggs and Jamal Jones, covers community politics.

Podcasts are a great way for local businesses and people who offer services to promote themselves.

“We encourage small businesses, because I feel that podcasting is a great tool,” Morris said. “It allows people to get information and educate people about your business.”

The studio hosts introduction to podcasting workshops twice a month. These workshops shows people how to host a podcast, how to market it, and how to make money from Internet radio. Morris envisions the studio becoming a broadcast academy in the future, where people can learn the radio business.

People do not have to have any experience to host a podcast, and Morris provides an engineer for every show. She has nearly 30 years of experience in the radio business. Her father, Johnny Morris, was a radio personality in the San Francisco Bay area, and she broke into the business when she moved to Los Angeles in the 1980’s.

Morris worked at 92.3 The Beat for 13 years, and she worked with Jamie Foxx on the Sirius radio show “The Foxx Hole.” She opened Morris Media Studios four years ago.

Morris Media Studios is on Crenshaw Boulevard, near 43rd Street. Visit their website at www.morrismedialive.com or call them at (323) 293-3375. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram.