Heads up: The Daily will be off next week for a quarterly break. 

PodMov Daily: Monday, June 20

Episode 669: Your Monday Mix

In Movies and TV, What *Should* Podcasting Look Like?

“Why is Hollywood, and popular media as a whole, SO BAD at portraying what podcasting actually is?” a Reddit user complained last summer. This was just before a wave of high-profile podcasty TV, led by the Hulu comedy “Only Murders in the Building” (Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez).

The Obamas’ production company has just made that wave bigger. Its first scripted Netflix series is “Bodkin,” a ‘dark comedic thriller’ about podcasters trying to solve a missing persons case in rural Ireland. It stars Will Forte, another universally likeable, familiar actor to represent what goes on behind the mic.

Back to the Reddit post. Podcasting “seems like such a rich, thoroughly integrated world that so many of us participate in,” the poster continued, but on-screen depictions are “wildly off-base.” Another user observed the trope of obsessed conspiracy theorists running “rogue, out-of-an-RV radio broadcasts.”

Most would agree that there’s nothing realistic about TV podcasters. The Hulu series “makes the process of conceiving, making and launching a podcast look hilariously easy,” writes Glen Weldon of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour. (Portlandia’s 2017 true-crime podcaster sketch is just plain hilarious.)

So what do podcasters want to see? If films showed professions as they ‘actually are,’ we’d have fewer about hackers, astronauts, and drug lords. Sarah Jessica Parker, Octavia Spencer, Billy Eichner, and B.J. Novak have, or will, get it wrong. We’re curious what ‘right’ will look like, and if it’s even possible to agree.

Who Are America’s Podcast Creators? Find Out on June 28.

On June 28, The Creators will change our understanding of the podcast industry. From Sounds Profitable, this is the first credible study of podcast creators in America. Based on four quarters of data from Edison Podcast Metrics, these demographics have been impractical to observe until now.

The report will also look at social media behaviors, platforms, preferred genres, and even paid subscription behaviors. This valuable data will highlight key opportunities to improve industry diversity and identify areas that need more investment and outreach that can inform a better path forward.

The study is supported by Edison Research and nine sponsors who care about the space and those whose voices power it. Stay curious, podcasters – Bryan Barletta and Tom Webster will present a free, 30-minute webinar on Tuesday, June 28 at 1:00 pm ET. After the webinar, the presentation will be made available to all.

Here's what else is going on:

• Ask nicely: A “Crowdfunding Deep Dive” from The Podcast Academy is tomorrow at 1:00 pm ET. In the one-hour masterclass, Andrew Sims (#Millennial, MuggleCast) will share crowdfunding tips with a focus on Patreon, the platform he uses to monetize his own shows. Free registration.

• Open door: “Making Audio More Accessible” from Podcasting, Seriously is this Wednesday at 4:00 pm ET. Ma’ayan Plaut of 3Play Media will join the weekly Twitter Spaces to discuss what it means to make a podcast accessible and how creators can open their work to more people. No account needed.

• Pitch perfect: “What CAN We Podcast?” from Pod People is coming up on June 29. A professional podcast pitcher will discuss what makes a standout pitch and how to get it in front of the right eyes. Next, attendee groups will create their own pitches and vote on the best to win an expert 1:1 session.

• Fan favorite: “How to Make Your Podcast Recommendable” is coming up on June 30. BIPOC Podcast Creators will host Evo Terra (Podcast Pontifications) for a live talk on the power of word-of-mouth recommendations, what makes a show shareable, and key steps to get there. $35 registration.