Podcasting

There are 70 posts filed in Podcasting (this is page 1 of 7).

The joy of podcasting

Over the last few weeks, I restarted recording some short podcasts while I drive home from work. It was fun to do, and I decided on the last one to not do any post-processing or edits, and thought it sounded ok. WordPress automatically creates an enclosure, so anyone could subscribe to my podcasting (of my 3-5 regular readers). My “kit” consists of my Samsung A10 smartphone, the Voice Recorder Android app, and a Logitech H111 headset that plugs into the speaker jack of my phone – that’s it! That’s all that it takes to record the podcast. And, of course, anyone can use any podcast app to listen to the episodes. As Anil Dash said in a post earlier this year commenting on the “wherever you get your podcasts” line, “radical systems can survive and even thrive in the modern world of tech and media. They can inspire new creators to make similar systems that are unowned, uncentralized, and a little bit uncontrollable.”.

To close, I recently listened to a Radio Open Source podcast episode focusing on the life of Hannah Arendt, who lived under authoritarian and totalitarian regimes in the 20th century. One line of her writing stood out to me: “We are free to change the world and start something new in it.”. I think that every podcast is a chance to change the world, and anyone is free to create one and send it out into the world. Thank you, Dave Winer, for making this possible.

The end of podcasting, chapter 63

More recent news items this month about layoffs at Chicago Public Media (WBEZ) and Colorado Public Radio, both affecting their podcast units. Key quotes:

The move to terminate nearly 15% of the 62 unionized content creators at Chicago’s National Public Radio affiliate comes amid a worsening financial crisis for the news organization marked by declining fundraising, listenership and philanthropic support.

https://www.wbez.org/stories/chicago-public-media-lays-off-14-staffers/451b3f28-338c-45bc-98c2-742a7106ecf2

In recent years revenue has grown but has not kept pace with expenses. CPR lists on its website that expenses had exceeded revenue by $1.3 million in fiscal year 2022 and $2.3 million in fiscal year 2023. Member giving has remained strong, but corporate sponsorship was down. Meanwhile, programming and fundraising expenses – driven in part by employee costs – have risen by millions of dollars.

https://www.cpr.org/2024/03/06/cpr-institutes-layoffs-in-audio-production-podcast-units/

Looks like my analysis from chapter 60 is still accurate:

If an organization is spending more money than it brings in income, they either figure out ways to increase revenue or cut expenses, or say goodbye! The technical term, I believe, is called “business”. 

https://andysylvester.com/2023/11/24/the-end-of-podcasting-chapter-60/

On the flip side, an informally produced podcast by Nick Hilton featuring people sharing their experience with Parkinson’s disease has won an award at the Broadcasting Press Guild in London, UK. A nice pull-quote from Nick’s post:

Podcasting has proved the perfect home for Movers and Shakers. It’s allowed us to access an audience of many, many thousands of people who either live with the condition, have loved ones living with the condition, or are fascinated by the banter between some broadcasting legends. It has allowed us to dive into a level of detail that makes people feel seen and heard. These are people who often feel let down by the health service, by their doctors and nurses, employers or benefits assessors. It is an entertainment product, first and foremost, but it’s also a support group. That’s why, despite the fact it’s a technical nightmare, we still record the show down at the pub: so that people feel like they’re having a pint with the gang, joining in with a laugh and a moan, and the sharing in the experiences of living with Parkinson’s.

https://nickfthilton.medium.com/what-an-award-winning-podcast-taught-me-about-podcasting-f83544fd34a7

Perhaps this is a better model for many podcasts that are trying to be money-makers – just sayin….

Postscript: NiemanLab says ” more people are listening to podcasts than ever before” – I guess the advertisers aren’t listening….

John Johnston: iPod podcasting nostalgia – John found an old iPod with a recording device that he used to make podcasts some time ago – and he made a podcast with it just this week – neat!

The end of podcasting, chapter 62

Well, I haven’t written on this topic for at least a month, but an interesting story appeared on Semafor (via Ben Werdmuller) called “The Incredible Shrinking Podcast Industry”. It seems that Apple releases download counts for shows for Apple Podcasts app users, and that they made a change in their app recently to stop automatic downloads of podcasts if the user had not been listening to a podcast within the last two weeks. This resulted in a big drop for many podcasts that use this data to track listener volume. I guess my comments in chapter 60 (and associated podcast) about Apple controlling the master list of podcasts were incorrect, that they ALSO control the way podcasts track download counts (for their app, which I GUESS is the most used app for listening to podcasts). To echo chapter 60 – WHO CARES!

This Semafor article also referenced the Hot Pod Newsletter from The Verge, which seems to be attempting to cover the “podcasting industry”, in addition to shilling for its own conference. I guess I’ll have to subscribe….yawn…

My three favorite podcast episodes

Here are the three podcasts that I have recorded that are my favorites:

The end of podcasting, episode 60 – I channel Keith Olbermann in a snarky podcast about downturns in the podcasting industry (December 2023)

In The Car Podcast Episode 4 – Home Impeachment Edition – I sing “The Christmas Song” with new lyrics about Donald Trump’s first impeachment (December 2019)

Thoughts from a user – After listening to some voicemail casts by Dave Winer (I called them asynchronous podcasts, since they were a conversation with Doc Searls), I decided to record one of my one to Dave Winer. He did not reply via a podcast, but he did acknowledge it on Scripting News. (January 2020)

Merry Christmas, everyone!

The end of podcasting, chapter 61

Well, I did not think I would be writing another chapter so soon, but here are some links to the latest podcasting industry downturns:

  • TechCrunch: Spotify cuts 17% jobs amid rising capital costs
  • TechCrunch: Everything you know about the podcast industry is a lie – Analysis of the Spotify layoffs
  • Leo LaPorte: “Radio got about a hundred years, podcasting got a decade’ – Leo Laporte on his recent layoffs (link to 3 minute audio clip)
  • Nick Hilton: A Year On From the Death of Podcasting… – Talks about his similar “death of podcasting” post from 2022, discusses Spotify layoffs, advertising issues, talent issues,….

I think my podcast from chapter 60 still applies….check it out!

The end of podcasting, chapter 60

Well, my faithful readers, it’s time for the next chapter of my ongoing documentary of the end of podcasting (it’s been over a year since I last addressed this topic!). I listened to a podcast on podcasting recently (saw it on Dave Winer’s linkblog), and suddenly felt myself turning into Keith Olbermann….no….stop…stop!….

Recently, I finished listening to an episode of the On The Media podcast, which had two stories about podcasting. The first story was something of an origin story, and was glad that Dave Winer and Adam Curry got a mention. It was interesting that Kevin Marks was a featured interviewee, as a person who created a script to copy podcasts to iPods back in the early 2000s. I have not thought of Kevin as someone who was a primary or secondary player in the development of podcasting, so it was curious how he made it into this segment. The show focused on the impact Apple has had on podcasting, with the main feature being that Apple maintains a directory of podcasts based on submissions from podcast producers. This is it? This is how Apple controls podcasting? The producers left out how there is another podcast directory maintained by Adam Curry and his group PodcastIndex.org. The producers also seemed to forget that there are some little things called…wait for it… search engines…I think one of them is called Google…The second story was about the business of podcasting, reviewing the ups and downs of the “podcasting industry” since 2014, and the cost of producing “prestige podcasts” (I had never heard that before!) or long-form journalism podcasts as opposed to “talk show” podcasts or other interview podcasts requiring much less resources to produce. I am sorry to have to bring this up – but – WHO CARES? Do people write stories about production company problems for television networks or streaming services? Do people get upset that Disney+ has not made a profit? Why do people think that the podcasting industry is a “darling” that should be mourned over or lamented about economic downturns? Get a life, people! If an organization is spending more money than it brings in income, they either figure out ways to increase revenue or cut expenses, or say goodbye! The technical term, I believe is called “business”. Whether it is a publicly funded organization (NPR, WNYC) or commercial companies (Spotify, Gimlet Media, iHeart), the business aspects are the same. Let’s get out there and compete people! Come on!

Keith Olbermann taking over this post…

Whew…what happened? Hmm, looks like someone named Keith left me a podcast….wonder what it sounds like?

Adding podcast cover art to a WordPress podcast

When I decided to create the Georgia v. Trump podcast, I wanted to have a more professional look, with some cover art. In my previous podcasts, I did not do anything extra, so the title in the RSS feed was all that would appear in my podcast app.

I was going to use WordPress for the website and the podcast, since I have used WordPress for other podcasts. I looked at the settings for the site theme, but did not see anything that let me add an image to the feed, so I decided to look for a plugin to help.

Before that, I looked into ways to create the podcast cover art. I  tried Edit.org, and was able to create an initial image. Next, I looked at several WordPress plugins that supported podcasting features. The first I tried was Seriously Simple Podcasting, but it was not as simple as the plugin title. I  also had some problems with post settings and image settings, so I  decided to look for another plugin, and went with Simple Podcasting. With this plugin, I was able to add an image for the podcast feed, add a podcast block within a post, and use the regular post structure for podcast posts.

During testing, I wanted to update the podcast cover art. The previous graphics tool created images that were smaller than the minimum size for Apple Podcasts,  so I went with Canva. I still had to use Microsoft Paint 3D to resize from 3000 to 2000 pixels to get the image to display properly in PocketCasts. My final test was to make sure that the post text would show up in PocketCasts. It took 3 posts before I could see the text. if I had been more patient, the post text probably would have showed up on its own. I know from some previous WordPress troubleshooting that my hosting company Bluehost sometimes caches RSS feed updates.

I hope this helps future podcasters to see that WordPress provides an adequate platform for hosting a podcast – no need to use Libsyn or other podcast hosting services (at least until you have the audience of a Joe Rogan….)!

Podcast Announcement: GeorgiaVTrump.com

I have started a new website, GeorgiaVTrump.com, to cover the Georgia 2020 election interference trial in Fulton County, Georgia. Links to pertinent news coverage will be posted, as well as timeline information and court documents as they are made available. In addition, since the trial proceedings are being made available on YouTube, this site will host a podcast with the audio from those proceedings.

Comments and suggestions are welcome, they can be added to posts, or emailed to info@georgiavtrump.com.