PodMov Daily: Wednesday, November 27

Episode 96: Your Midweek Update

Happy autumn interlude, readers. PM Daily’s on a brief Thanksgiving break, but we’ll be back with a live events Special Issue on Monday and continuing regular programming on Tuesday.

Audiosphere: The LA Times' Profiles of Podcasting's Evolution

The Los Angeles Times has released the latest edition of Audiosphere, its occasional podcasting series “on the people who are making some of the genre’s most fascinating shows.” Margy Rochlin and Wendy Lee’s well-crafted interviews reveal lucky-break backgrounds and genuine friendships behind influential podcasts.

Audiosphere’s run since last year aims to track the evolution of podcasting culture. This collection includes this fall’s profiles of A Date With Dateline hosts Katie Mitchell and Kimberly Arnold, Mob Queens hosts Jessica Bendinger and Michael Seligman. An in-depth conversation with Spotify chief content officer Dawn Ostroff rounds out the industry focus.

Nicholas Quah on Gumball's Innovative Host-Read Ad Marketplace

In Hot Pod, Nicholas Quah explores a viable alternative to the binary of “artisanal host-read ads” and a “fully programmatic future.” He’s “paying some attention” to Gumball, Headgum’s new podcast advertising marketplace, which has positioned itself as champions of host-read sponsorships.

Marty Michael, one of Headgum’s co-founders, emphasized the platform’s efficiency and transparency in an interview. Quah explains that “In a nutshell, Gumball is an attempt to articulate (and structurally advocate for) a future where the fundamental value of host-read ads, podcasting’s long-time edge in advertising, isn’t only preserved and protected, but modernized and emboldened.”

“The key idea is that podcasters, particularly those operating independently, wouldn’t have to pitch themselves to a network or a sales rep in order to potentially get in front of advertisers, because they’d be able to present themselves to advertisers directly on the Gumball platform.”

That NPR Sound: Lifehacker's Abu Zafar Tunes In to Quality Audio

Lifehacker’s new podcasting series continues with a video guide on how to make your show “sound like NPR.” Following producer Abu Zafar’s “no B.S.” pre-launch checklist video, this installment goes in-depth into microphone placement, vocal performance, and mixing audio.

Zafar combines NPR’s audio training resources with commentary from experts including Brendan Baker, director of Wolverine: The Long Night and Misha Euceph, host of Tell Them, I Am. He demonstrates skills like matching levels of vocal tracks and adding compression to reduce dynamic range.

“You know how reality TV isn’t actually reality? Podcasts are just like that,” explains Zafar. “Most good podcasts are very tightly edited — this is a crucial step in the process that you can’t skip.”

Registration for Evolutions and PM20 Goes Up December 2

Happy Wednesday, readers, and heads up: Registration prices for both 2020 events, Evolutions in February and Podcast Movement in August, will go up on Monday, December 2. Get your passes and hotel rooms booked now for the easiest, breeziest, most affordable experience.

Cheers,

Team PM

Here's what else is going on:

• Again, again: Every week after rewatching an episode of “Lost,” Sammy Roth and fellow journalist Rosalie Murphy head to the studio. In the LA Times, Roth explores the satisfaction of making The Hatch: A Lost Podcast and the remarkable popularity of rewatch shows.

• It beckons: The Verge reports that Twitter is sending out warning emails to inactive account holders (those who haven’t signed in for more than 6 months) that those who don’t sign in by December 11 will forfeit their profiles. Shout out to podcasters with rarely used show accounts.

• Fresh ink: Recently launched startup Quill aims to “help aspiring podcasters get their shows off the ground.” The platform’s marketplace connects users with “vetted freelancers” that guide the launch process, from creative development to production and distribution.

• Taking action: Capital Public Radio’s podcast TahoeLand attracted students to a “packed” presentation at Sacramento City College. Data reporter Sally Schilling and interactive producer Emily Zentner discussed actions to take on “Tahoe’s recent climate change epidemic.”