Bradley County Sheriff Tim Gobble Connecting With Podcasts

In local TV news, rarely do you find law enforcement officers who enjoy the camera.

Bradley County Sheriff Tim Gobble embraces it.

"I'm Sheriff Tim Gobble and thanks for tuning into BCSO TV."

"BCSO-TV" is the new addition to the Sheriff's Public Relations machine. On top of radio appearances and newspaper columns Tim Gobble is now shooting a weekly series of internet promotions. You can view His podcast journals on YouTube and BradleySheriff.com.

A sample from a recent podcast: "I have with me today Deputy Nathan Hedrick. Nathan,  thanks from coming to the show."

This month Gobble posted 11 episodes. The topics range from crime reports to the presidential elections. The Sheriff also uses the format to push his agenda, particularly his desire for a bigger budget.

"How many miles does it have on it?" Gobble asks a deputy in a patrol car.

"211,265."

"What year is it?"

"1995 Crown Vic."

"So it's over 12 years old?"

"Yessir."

J. Michael Leonard, Communications Director and assistant to the Sheriff, helps produce BCSO-TV.

"I don't know [if I would say] 'propaganda', [maybe] public relations. It's a public relations tool. A way to let people go directly to the Sheriff and get unfiltered information."

The Sheriff considers BCSO-TV a success. The podcasts receive hundreds of hits and cost very little to produce.

"Its something that we can talk about day to day events at the sheriff's department that people are concerned about and people don't have to be at the television at 6 oclock," says Gobble.

And it's also a way for Gobble to shoot back at his critics.

Sample Podcast: "Did you have anything you wanted to say about that? I didn't think so."