As for your displeasure in corporate tobacco interests invading podcasting, I’d like to clear a few things up.

I am a young filmmaker, trying to use my limited resources to tell stories. I was able to secure the cigar shop location with the caveot that we provide them with some online advertising. So far, they’ve recieved 1 customer from our audience. It seems, mostly non smokers enjoy our show.

Second, I heartily agree that podcasts, blogs, etc. should be a place for citizen media, not rehashed corporate content. If you’ve looked at the top 25 podcasts on the iTunes music store lately, most are simply repackaged radio programs or clever film/tv marketing tools.

I chose to create a sitcom (not journalism) about a cigar shop because I knew it was a subject matter that would never see mainstream distribution. It was an extra challenge. Had I chosen to pander to the evangelicals or the brokeback mountain audiences, I’m sure I would have seen much more acceptance by either target.

I still feel, no matter the general consensus on smoking, that a valid story can be told about a cigar shop. I’ll admit, our production values are low, but that hasn’t stopped the thousands of viewers waiting for another episode.

Thank you for blogging about the Up in Smoke Video Podcast.