See Hear

Sept. 1, 2026.

• At least four weeks in advance of when you’d like a story, video or podcast episode to post, you’ll fill out an online form with event details, press materials and artist contact information. we’ll take care of the rest—setting up the interviews and producing/scheduling the content.

• Depending on other story commitments, we could turn around your content in as little as one week’s time, but with anything less than four weeks' notice, we can’t guarantee posting before the date you request. 

• For the first year, yes. This is a new publication with a new funding model, so we understand the impulse to test the waters before diving in.

• But if you anticipate wanting a higher number of pieces produced about your programming, it will make far better sense to join See Hear at a higher level than joining at a lower level and purchasing a la carte content after you’ve exhausted your benefits.

• Recommended membership levels on the chart are based on a few factors: 

  • 1) Larger organizations tend to have more programming and events to build press coverage around. 

  • 2) The See Hear content devoted to members is more economical than purchasing this content a la carte. We want organizations to get the most out of their memberships. 

  • 3) Your membership makes it possible to sustain See Hear as a thriving home for arts journalism in Western North Carolina. And that helps our entire community.

  • 4) For-profit arts organizations and those that operate as nonprofits but don’t have their own 501(c)3 designations are invited to join at the “small organization” level, or higher if they so choose. 

• See Hear will be a home for credible, quality arts journalism, whether stories are commissioned by members or not. We will regularly cover important, interesting events—regardless of membership—and spotlight and amplify the voices of unheralded and underrepresented local artists.

• Membership allows organizations to commission specific stories that might otherwise go uncovered. I’ve opened different tiers of membership to meet varied programming needs. These stories will fit into the mix of general See Hear content, and the interviews and story production that go into them will be no different than the work Matt puts into all his journalism. The only difference people will see are taglines identifying the members behind commissioned pieces.

• Membership won’t keep us from covering important local arts stories, even those that might be unflattering to a See Hear member. For example, if the nonprofit board of a See Hear member removes its executive director, See Hear will report on that story.

• NO. Just as with other news media outlets, you won’t see or vet our work before it posts. While members commission me to preview events and interview specific artists as part of their benefits, members aren’t dictating how we write or produce See Hear stories. 

• When you’re using your member benefits to have me preview a specific production, exhibition or concert, be assured the content we produce will inform, engage and, hopefully, inspire people to go. But it’s vital for everyone in our community—including audiences—that our journalism remains credible through its independence. 

Whether it’s through See Hear’s channels or yours, we expect the bulk of our audience to come through various side doors:

• We have an email database from The Overlook, Matt’s previous podcast, and an audience with Wake Up, Asheville, a daily newscast podcast that will regularly tip to See Hear stories.

• Local news media are regularly posting content from one another, something that didn’t occur all that long ago. The landscape is ripe for See Hear content to appear on Mountain Xpress’ website and BPR’s airwaves.

• Our free weekly newsletter will be a must-subscribe resource to the arts.

• Partnerships with area tourism bureaus to embed our content onto their websites.

• See Hear marketing will include geo-targeted brand-awareness campaigns through Instagram and an in-podcast advertising platform called AudioGo.

• Your core audience will want to read, watch and listen to the stories we post about your organization. Sharing our stories with your audience, through your own social channels and newsletters, will deepen their engagement and commitment to experiencing your new work.

• The cross-currents of community: Audiences coming to See Hear from other arts organizations’ posts will, inevitably, learn about your work. These are people you aren’t otherwise reaching.

• Memberships begin on the day your organization joins and are due to renew a year from that date. 

• Organizations joining between now and our formal launch will have their first-year memberships extend until See Hear’s anniversary in 2027.

• YES! As examples, you might experience a leadership change or key organizational milestone, or launch an educational program we believe is newsworthy for a broad public. We will want to cover those outside the scope of stories you commission through membership.

• We might also want to include someone from your company in a story about a larger issue or trend in the arts or as a guest on a podcast episode that isn’t specifically about your organization. Those, too, are at our editorial discretion and outside the scope of your membership.

• On occasion, yes. We want See Hear to be a comprehensive platform for arts journalism in Western NC. Many local artists or small collectives aren’t in a position to pay for memberships, and it’s important the site be accessible to noteworthy creators in our community.

• Still, content commissioned by members will always be our priority.

• See Hear won’t write features or previews about fundraisers. However, members can post short “Bulletins” in advance of their fundraisers.

• We also won’t write formal criticism/reviews of performances, exhibitions, recordings or events.

• While there’s no prototype yet, this is the home page of The Charlotte Ledger, an independent news outlet using the same platform as See Hear.

• Our home page will look largely like this, though we will also have audio and video content accessible directly from our site.

• A preview article is a written piece only, accompanied by either photo(s) that you provide or photos we shoot. The podcast interviews are more long-form conversations that will be produced in both audio and video.

• While you could use your membership credits for both an article and podcast interview serving the same event preview, you’ll get more mileage by spreading those out over separate productions. When commissioning content, we’ll talk in advance about which format/medium will work best for that particular preview.

  • For example, at the tier for large organizations, you’re eligible for up to 9 pieces of content with your plan (4 written articles, 3 podcast episodes and 2 produced videos).  

• These involve Matt coming to a location, shooting footage from a rehearsal, performance, reading, reception for an exhibition, conducting a short interview, then putting together a video story running around 3-4 minutes. 

• For examples of these, please explore some of the videos Matt produced for his Twin Cities arts program 3-Minute Egg. 

• Members will have editorial access on our platform to author their own news briefs (under 100 words) about virtually anything they like, such as fundraisers, audition or job notices, public workshops or classes or studio rentals. These bulletins will appear in chronological order in their own section of See Hear.  

One of the reasons we’re asking members to request coverage at least one month in advance is to help editorial planning. We’re also prepared to hire local freelance journalists to produce work Matt can’t personally fulfill.

See Hear will offer members-only opportunities and pricing for a la carte content for organizations that have already reached their limit for the year. Be aware, a la carte content will cost roughly 25% more than as part of a tiered bundle, so choose your tier with your full year of programming in mind.

• Perhaps, but not at the beginning. There are already a few calendars in the regional ether and we have no ambition to compete with them. 

• Still, if enough members request a calendar they can post events to, we’ll eventually adopt a platform for anyone to post events in our calendar. Member posts would be highlighted. 

No, but we will feature prominent links in our content to your own ticketing platforms.

• See Hear will offer a range of business advertising options for on-site and newsletter display, along with in-podcast and in-video placement.

• Though non-member businesses can purchase ads, members receive discounted ad rates.