John Siuntres
Credit: Word Balloon
Self-portrait
Credit: John Siuntres
Newsarama alum John Siuntres was among many laid off as part of the radio conglomerate Entercom’s cutbacks in light of financial difficulties due to the coronavirus pandemic – but Siuntres’ long-running interview podcast Word Balloon will continue on.
“The current situation just shows how many businesses get affected by the virus,” Siuntres told Newsarama. “I’m just using the time to make more podcasts. Not just interviews but having panel discussion on nerd subjects and playing trivia games with creators so listeners and YouTube viewers can play along.”
For the past two years, Siuntres has worked for the Chicago talk radio station WBBM. His Word Balloon podcast has aired regularly since 2005, including several years in conjunction with Newsarama.
“With the new comics biz shut down, I hope my podcasts help keep the comics culture in everyone’s minds and give us entertainment we’d get at a convention panel. Think of Word Balloon as a virtual convention.”
Word Balloon is available free on all major podcast platforms as well as YouTube, however Siuntres runs a Patreon page for supporters with additional content.