Slice of SciFi’s sister network, the Zombie Channel, is happy to welcome Michael Hickerson as the site’s News Director in charge of the website and all things zombie.

Michael is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a degree in journalism. He’s had a wide and varied career that has included stops as a sports writer/editor, tech supporting, running a software distribution company and delivering live scores and data. He also currently works for the governor’s communications office for the state of Tennessee.

After working as a journalist for Slice of SciFi for a year, Michael was promoted to Assistant News Editor. He now takes on the duties as head writer and News Director for the Zombie Channel.

The Fanboy Smackdown podcast (www.fanboysmackdown.com) recently sponsored a contest with Netflix’s YouTube channel that gave fans of the show six-month subscriptions to Netflix. Each of these subscriptions is valued at over $100.

Thirty subscriptions were awarded to visitors of the website who signed up for Netflix’s YouTube channel and FarPoint Media’s YouTube channel.

Fanboy Smackdown has recently announced that they will change the name of their podcast to the Backseat Producers, but hope to continue the recent string of giveaways to listeners of their podcast and visitors to their website.

Congratulations to the cast and pit crew at FarPoint Media’s Cup Car Update. Their show this past week reached a milestone, hitting 100 laps around the podcast track.

If you love NASCAR then Cup Car Update is your place for all the latest information about the auto sport, and also just plain fun car talk.

Visit Cup Car Update’s Official Website for your best NASCAR News & Information Podcast.

Our very own Slice of SciFi (SoSF) host and FarPoint Media company president, Michael R. Mennenga was recently interviewed by AMC for their official online science fiction blog called SciFi Scanner. They wanted to talk to him about the Slice of SciFi podcast and the phenomenal growth of the Slice of SciFi Website.

The article is a very positive take on our endeavours at SoSF. You can catch the interview by AMC’s Clayton Neuman HERE.

FarPoint Media is happy to announce the launching of its FarPoint Media Video Channel on YouTube. The channel will highlight video entries and features from several of its groundbreaking podcast shows and websites.

The irreverent Wingin’ It 3D blasted off with its first video last week pondering the many facets of preparing and eating chocolate covered cuttlefish.

Also seeing its premiere was the new weekly show “Slice of SciFi Video Headline News” with your news anchors Michael R. Mennenga and Brian Brown showcasing just some of the hundreds of top news stories featured on the Slice of SciFi website each week.

About FarPoint Media
FarPoint Media (FPM) is a family of independent programmers who retain their creative freedom and content rights. FPM shows cover diverse interests and hot topics that bring together the old staples of radio and television into the new technologies of downloadable media.

A leader in producing and distribution of quality radio, podcast and video entertainment, FarPoint Media has scifi media and genre literature shows featuring news and interviews with the actors, producers and writers creating your favorite TV programs and books, and has discussion shows that true fan geeks can immerse themselves in.

FPM also showcases quality audio dramas to fire the imagination of its listeners, specialized sports news and information shows that take the enthusiasts beyond the box scores, comedy and variety shows that will have fans laughing out loud, and shows with experienced advice that can help improve listeners and viewers tech skills, or sharpen their writing skills.

FarPoint Media is online entertainment. See what The Indie Podcast/Vidcast Network has to offer you.

Beginning March 17, 2008 and running through April 1, FarPoint Media’s webcomics podcast The Gigcast and the band Beatnik Turtle are holding a contest to promote the new Beatnik Turtle CD “Sham Rock.” The entire prize pack will include their new CD as well as a CD containing the popular tribute song to podcaster Joe Murphy titled “Mason Rocket.” The Gigcast will also throw in some items from NightGig Studios.

On March 8th, 2008, Fear the Con was held in St. Charles, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. The gaming convention was attended by over 100 people and by all accounts was considered a rousing success for a first year convention.

This convention is notable for a few reasons, first, it was a gaming convention sponsored by a gaming podcast. Fear the Boot, a tabletop RPG podcast, sponsored the event as a way to build the community of gamers who listen to their show and give them a venue whereby people from all over the country could come together and celebrate gaming and the podcast that they enjoy on a weekly basis. Listeners to the show came from Arkansas, Oklahoma, New York, South Carolina, Georgia, Utah and Indiana, just to name a few states.

The convention is also notable because it was the first Fear the Froot. Fear the Froot I was the brainchild of Tony Mast, host of Tony’s Losing It. Tony collected donations in the months leading up to the event and with the support of his friends in the podcast community, listeners of his podcast, the Fear the Boot podcast and others through out the podcasting and gaming communities, he collected over $100 in donations.

Tony was able to make a purchase through a local Farmer’s Market and arrived at the convention with 6 cases of fruit. It’s estimated that there was between 150 and 200 pounds of apples, oranges and bananas on hand at the convention.

Through the course of the day, Tony visited every gaming table two to three times during each four hour gaming block to hand deliver a healthy alternative snack to the gamers and volunteers of the convention.

At the end of the day there were still three cases of fruit but many, many thanks to those who helped to support Fear the Froot I.

The following day, the remaining cases of fruit along with left over concessions from the convention were donated to the Violence Prevention Center of Southwestern Illinois, a shelter that supports women, children and the elderly who leave violent households.

Tony’s Losing It episode #34 details the events of Fear the Froot I from Tony’s perspective.

Fear the Froot will return in October 2008 at Archon, the St. Louis area gaming, science fiction, fantasy and media convention in Collinsville, Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Fear the Froot II will take place over the three-day convention and already has donations and volunteers enlisted to help out with the event.

Information about Fear the Con and Fear the Boot can be found at www.feartheboot.com.

Tony Mast hosts the Tony’s Losing It, Fanboy Smackdown and Sci-fi Smackdown podcasts. Information for these podcasts can be found at www.tonyslosingit.com, www.fanboysmackdown.com and www.scifismackdown.com respectively.

Information about the Violence Prevention Center of Southwestern Illinois can be found at www.vpcswi.org.

On February 29, 2008 Chuck Tomasi and Kreg Steppe, FarPoint Media podcasters, have announced their candidacy for the job of PodPresident.

Any PodPresident serves for a term of one year and their responsibilities include bringing stability and direction to the podosphere, listening to needs of the community, and bring to light issues that need addressing. More information on the position can be found at the PodPresident website.

Anchor man Sir Kit Borde from Channel 42 will keep everyone up to date with details on the start of this great race.

For more information and calendar of events, visit PodPresident.com and subscribe to the podcast feed.

Election Calendar

Also, Voice your Opinions and concerns on issues you would like the candidates to address at 206.495.0784

Press Release

Adam Pinilla has joined FarPoint Media’s Fanboy Smackdown podcast as a new co-host, joining current show hosts Tony Mast and Tony #2. Pinilla joins the show for episode #049.

We are thrilled that Adam has joined the team and brings his unique style and enthusiasm to the program. He will bring his experience as a former host of the Fear the Boot gaming podcast to the show as well as his skills as a software engineer.

Beginning Friday, February 22, 2008, Technorama will begin a series of three episodes recorded from the Computer History Museum in Mountain View California.

Chuck and Kreg don’t just take you on a stroll down memory lane; they explore all of this landmark building’s twists and turns. They also challenge their docent, Stan Sieler, who rises to the occasion. You’ll get the facts, along with some interesting reactions from the hosts, on everything from the Abacus to video games, bicycle computers to Cray supercomputers.

You can join them as they explore the “back room” and find out about the history of the museum itself. You’ve never heard an audio tour quite like this.