News Corp Australia has brought on Rachel Fountain as Content Director, Audio for NewsCast, the company's on-demand audio division.

Fountain, a multi-award-winning executive producer and journalist, will be responsible for developing news, sport, and lifestyle audio programming in collaboration with the company's newsrooms.

Fountain's remit extends to commissioning and creating audio programming to complement the podcasts produced by News Corp Australia’s mastheads. This move is seen as a strategic step to strengthen the company's podcast portfolio, which includes The Matty Johns Podcast, Browny's Podcast, DT NRL, HS Footy, The Front, From the Newsroom, The Money Puzzle, Something to Talk About, Healthy-ish, Extra Healthy-ish, The Juggling Act and Under the Gloss.

Prior to joining News Corp Australia, Fountain held the position of Executive Producer, Head of Development at Deadset Studios. Her portfolio there included the production of notable podcasts such as Journo, The Solutionists, Curveball, Culture Compass, Restitution and Hooked, Hitched & Hung Up. Before her stint at Deadset Studios, she was the Executive Producer (Podcasts) for the ABC.

"We are excited to have someone as experienced as Rachel in the podcasting world join NewsCast to build out our audio team," said News Corp Australia’s Acting General Manager of Audio, Shannon Hollis. "Rachel will work closely with our masthead brands and talent to further grow our content and audiences. Her appointment is key for the ambitions we have in growing NewsCast in the coming year."

Fountain said she was thrilled with the chance to work alongside News Corp Australia’s journalists and the NewsCast audio team.

"It’s a real opportunity to build on the work they’re doing and connect with that audience hungry for audio content," she said.

Fountain officially joins the business on Monday 8 January 24.