The podcaster who former Ohio State University President Walter "Ted" Carter Jr. had an inappropriate relationship with, leading to his resignation, had a $93,000 contract to record 50 episodes of her show at WOSU, public records show.
The WOSU News team obtained the contract between WOSU and "The Callout" podcast host and owner Kristanthe Vlachos through a public records request. The contract shows Vlachos was permitted to record her podcast at WOSU Headquarters, located at 1800 N. Pearl Street, and outlined what equipment and services she could use at the facility.
In total, Vlachos had to pay $93,716, or $1,874.32 per podcast episode, to produce 50 episodes at WOSU. That included:
- Studio production with three cameras and one teleprompter
- Editing of the podcasts weekly opening and graphics
- The cost of control room software to record the video and podcast to hard drives
- Set up, tear down and lighting
The contract was set for one year from June 30, 2025 until July 31, 2026.
"The Callout" podcast, which has been taken down from YouTube and other social media sites, was billed as a show connecting military and veterans to jobs within the utility industry using artificial intelligence.
Carter appeared on the podcast multiple times and was featured prominently in graphics airing before the show.
Carter disclosed what he called an "inappropriate relationship" with Vlachos after a person tipped off the Ohio State University Board of Trustees. Carter admitted to giving Vlachos access to public resources to support her local business.
Carter resigned and university officials quickly hired Ravi Bellamkonda, the former provost and executive vice president, as his replacement.
The contract outlines how the agreement may be terminated by either party by giving 30 days written notification to the other party. The contract said if expenses are outstanding at the time of termination, the client will be responsible for payment within 30 days.
WOSU reached out to an Ohio State spokesperson to ask if Vlachos paid any money owed to WOSU and if the contract has been terminated. It's unclear how many episodes Vlachos completed at WOSU.
In the contract, Vlachos was required to pay WOSU the per episode cost within 30 days of receiving an invoice from WOSU.
JobsOhio, an economic development nonprofit, said it paid Vlachos $60,000 to sponsor four of these episodes. The nonprofit said she only produced one of these episodes.
Under the agreement, WOSU was responsible for providing a multi-camera remote production equipment and crew, recording of the event and live video streaming of the event and post-production editing of the presentations.
Vlachos was responsible for scheduling guests, scheduling studio time, clearing any copywritten material and items for the set.
Vlachos had to provide her own graphics to be included in the video, her own 8 terabyte hard drive to record and store files and provide her own makeup artists, if needed.
Vlachos also had to pay for her own guest parking on Ohio State's campus.
WOSU has also obtained a copy of Carter's personnel file, which didn't reveal new details about his relationship with Vlachos. The file included Carter's brief resignation letter and Board of Trustees Chair John Zeiger's response, which was previously released by university officials.
