PodMov Daily: Tuesday, March 3

Episode 154: Testing, One Two-sday

Sharpen Your Skills: Resources for Media, Reporting, and Funding

“Think, for a moment, about all the things you’ve had to learn to do your job.” Poynter’s Kristen Hare asks professionals in the journalism field to consider their daily range of skills. Many apply to podcasters of every genre. Which tools do you plan to sharpen this year?

“Maybe you want to engage with your audiences better. Maybe you just want to make a GIF,” Hare considers. The award-winning reporter has “rounded up 10 guides and tip sheets that can help” with hosting an event, finding funding, collaborative storytelling, and everything in between.

Podcasters are wise to look for resources outside the audio world. How do you get public records? How should you use a press release? Journalists have your back. Hare’s recommendations even cover “choosing your platform, monetizing and gathering metrics.”

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BBC Studios Announces Investment in Pocket Casts

BBC Studios has announced investment in the podcasting platform Pocket Casts. Ashley Carman of The Verge notes that the move counters major apps “committing themselves to a strategy of exclusive shows designed to build loyalty to their platform.”

The free-to-download Pocket Casts prizes an “open ecosystem of freely available RSS feeds.” According to a company press release, the company is “focused on independent voices, supporting producers and preserving the intimacy of the medium.”

The undisclosed investment sum will go toward operational costs and growing the platform, which is owned by public media entities including NPR, WNYC Studios and WBEZ Chicago. Added support from the BBC aims to strengthen the open-access foothold in a changing industry.

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Podcast Hosting Companies and Future Content Accountability

In a piece for Podcast Business Journal, Tim O’Brien, the producer and host of the podcast Shaping Opinion, considers how podcast platforms and hosting companies may eventually be “facing some of the same challenges that YouTube and Facebook are wrestling with today.”

The challenges in question center around content accountability expectations. Growing concern about hate speech on influential social platforms has led to widespread policy change. O’Brien asks, from the platform’s perspective, “Whose job is it to police the platforms and make value judgement decisions on whether that content should be left to stand?”

O’Brien advises platforms to prepare for an onslaught of activism, as “it may not be long before the hosting company is accused of being an enabler.” When these conversations do pan out, surely this industry will recognize their validity and the importance of taking them seriously.

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Here's what else is going on:

• Endless chat: What can non-billionaire creators learn from Oprah's repurposing of talk show content into podcasts? Sonia Thompson of Inc. suggests we pay attention. “Remarkable content transcends time, form, and mediums.”

• Party lines: The LBC Radio podcast Full Disclosure with James O'Brien offers a peek into the literary rise of guest George The Poet. The award-winning spoken word artist was a major winner at the 2019 British Podcast Awards.

• Almighty ruler: On a recent panel, representatives from Vice Media, Mamamia and The Betoota Advocate suggested that audience measurement in radio “won’t be able to keep pace with podcasting’s exact audience numbers.”

• Page turner: In Forbes, Jacqueline Schneider discusses how podcasting is turning to the books business for new audiences. iHeartMedia’s recent Stuff You Should Know book deal reflects a strategic “direct marketing pipeline.”