BuzzFeed,
Huffington Post, Gawker, the Daily Beast and other online news sites are
influencing journalism by pushing it toward shorter and shorter stories and
items – in a way that critics say is debasing journalism and public debate
about important issues. Podcasts, however, are changing journalism in a manner
that those critics are likely to applaud – by popularizing longer treatment of
stories and discourses about topics and issues.
The
ability of broadcast radio to support open-ended entertainment programs like
Adam Carolla’s show has declined. But some might say public radio has bloomed
and expanded, with ever more long-form journalistic shows, like several offered
on WNYC in New York, and through its associated smartphone app. However, even
public radio may not be suited to the full range of what is possible for radio
or audio format journalism.
The
most prominent example of successful long-form podcast journalism is “Serial,”
National Public Radio’s spin-off podcast that devoted 10 hours last fall to the
case of Adnan Syed, the Baltimore-area high school student imprisoned for
murder in 2000 based on questionable evidence. “Serial” has devoted its second season,
still underway, to the mysteries around the apparent 2009 desertion of U.S.
Army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured and held by the Taliban in
Afghanistan for five years.
“Serial”
was spawned by the NPR program “This American Life,” and has attracted an
audience of millions. “99% Invisible,” a podcast about how design works in
various facets of life and influences people, originated as a radio show in San
Francisco, but reaches far more listeners as a podcast than in its airings on
some public radio stations, currently ranking 22nd on the Stitcher
List of listener figures compiled by the on-demand Internet radio service.
The
Stitcher list, a top 100 of podcasts, is a barometer for what genres of
podcasts are popular. The list currently has a varied mix of news or politics
shows, comedy and entertainment shows, and specialized technology, science and medicine
programs. A majority of these shows are independently spawned; a healthy
contingent originate from NPR or public radio; and only a smaller handful are
generated by pre-existing media entities such as ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, Fox
News, USA Today and Time.
So,
aside from being a vibrant home for the kind of content that seems to be
challenged in attracting an audience in text-based online outlets, podcasting
also appears to be the last bastion of independent, but still popular, points
of view that are not owned or controlled by the biggest media companies. That
same Stitcher List contains programs including the storytelling shows The Moth
and Risk, and personalities such as Glenn Beck, Alex Jones and Dan Savage – to name
three whose points of view vary widely.
As
this blog continues, I plan to explore multiple angles on the importance of
podcasting, how the podcasting industry is developing, how to compare and
contrast quality of specific shows, and whatever else comes to mind that falls
under the umbrella of podcasting as a topic – and maybe even items that stray
into the broader media landscape. I’m sure the point of view, the tone and the
content will evolve, and I hope you’ll keep following.
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