Broadcast revolution: podcasts

Broadcast revolution: podcasts

In today's rushing world, people do not have the time to turn the television or radio on at the live broadcast time of their favourite program. They became used to the fact that this does not mean they going to miss their favourite show. Just as television changed over the last decades, allowing for their customers to record their favourite shows and then watch it whenever they like, radio had to change as well. In this essay I will explain how podcasting has revolutionized broadcasting, allowing the audience to only tune in for the best parts of a show, without the commercials and music bits.

The definition of a podcast according to the Oxford Dictionary is the following: “A digital audio file made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or portable media player, typically available as a series, new instalments of which can be received by subscribers automatically”. (Oxford Dictionaries)  Its name came from the success of Apple's portable media player the iPod and the word 'broadcast' blended together. (Online Etymology Dictionary)

A podcast is very similar to a complete radio show, but there are some key differences: podcasts can be downloaded automatically from the internet and one can listen to them anywhere and anytime (given the device is charged) on a Smartphone or an mp3 or mp4 player. The freedom of choice to when and where you listen to your favourite show revolutionised how people use electronic media. There are several types of podcast. On Apple's music manager, iTunes, there is a whole Podcast section with millions of Podcasts with millions of episodes. The most common type of podcast is audio podcasts. This can be a live show, recorded, or a radio show's best moments. For example, one of the most popular audio podcasts in the UK is BBC 5 Live radio channel's Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo's Film Reviews, which I subscribed to myself for years. The full show is broadcast live on Fridays, but it has music and commercials. The podcast version only contains the actual film reviews, plus additional content the hosts record before and after the live show especially for the podcast, like listener's emails and additional reviews that did not fit into the live show's time.

The other popular type is video podcasts. These can vary greatly; there are video podcasts like vlogs, or bits of comedy pieces or cartoons. The time of these video podcasts varies greatly but it tends to be around 4-5 minutes so it is not overwhelming for the viewers. Video podcasts are usually delivered in a regular pattern, although it is common that the creators just upload whenever they like. For instance, the famous TED Talks video podcast are very irregular, sometimes there are podcasts every day or every weekday, but there are often no uploads for 3-4 days.

There are also enhanced podcasts that are usually audio podcasts, containing extra material like hyperlinks, which the listener or viewer can click on and find extra material, or illustrations fitting the audio material. Podcast novels are a new literary format that combines standard podcasts with audiobooks. These are usually serialised stories, available to download every week. These serialised audiobooks can be brand new works from new authors, classic fiction or extra material from well-known famous authors.

This new type of media allows anybody to be a broadcaster. Only a microphone is needed and you can talk to your listeners. There are also easier ways of communication between a podcaster and a simple radio broadcaster. This feature is very appealing to professional journalists as well. (Hammersley, 2004) The various uses of podcasts include education, music, politics, publicity, health, social interests and marketing. For example, in the case of podcast novels, a new author without a publisher can promote his or her work, making it available to download for free, earning audience and fans, which can get the attention of publishing companies. Also in long-form content marketing, they make the listeners fans of the podcasters and what they are doing or using, making them more interested in certain branded products, which they will eventually buy in the shops.

Obviously podcasts are a way of entertainment as well. Starting with book and film reviews, through cooking shows and technological advice, podcasts about travelling and languages, there are even comedy shows and comics presented through podcasts to us. News programs should not be forgotten either; these are usually news program's digest podcasts, or there are programs like Clippet News, that deliver the most important news from around the world every day in 1 minute clippets that the audience can download and listen to on the go. The same applies to sports; there are sport commentary podcasts that often include interviews with the sportsman or coaches.

To conclude, although podcasts appeared a decade ago now, I believe a lot of people are still not aware what it really meant for broadcasting. In this essay I explained what podcasts are and presented their various types and uses. It is probably more popular today than listening to the radio while driving, and video podcasts are a great way to spend the long minutes waiting at bus stops or during travelling.

Works cited:

Hammersley, B. (2004, February 12). Audible revolution. Retrieved December 18, 2014, from http://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/feb/12/broadcasting.digitalmedia

Podcast. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14, 2014, from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/podcast

Podcast. (n.d.). Retrieved December 18, 2014, from http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=podcast