Podcasts: The Guardian Basically Started It All
Even though podcasts are a more recent audio advancement, The Guardian has been working with this format for over ten years. They started in 2004 when Guardian writer Ben Hammersley’s coined the word “podcasting.” Around the same time, the Ricky Gervais radio show launched its first podcast, which according to the Guardian was “the world’s most downloaded podcast.”
And why did they do this? Well, for the same reasons then as people start podcasts now, because “by combining the intimacy of voice, the interactivity of a weblog, and the convenience and portability of an MP3 download, [podcasting] seems to take the best of all worlds, and not just for the listener.” Even back in 2004, The Guardian was looking to the future and the potential of audio and podcasts.
The Guardian’s podcasting content has become an extension of its news brand, so listeners can find podcasts on nearly any topic, including sports, politics, culture, race, entertainment, sex, and more. Most of their content runs between twenty and forty-five minutes, though some episodes run to an hour. New content is posted nearly every day. According to The Guardian, they produce “8–10 hours of audio content” every week with “116,000 average monthly downloads” with more than “20 active podcasts, back catalogue of over 40.”
The writers range from freelancers to more consistent Guardian newspaper writers to audio professionals who are employed specifically for their expertise with podcasts. The Guardian defines their audience as being a bit different from the rest of the BBC’s, that their audience tends to be progressive, and their “audio content is designed to be edgy and provocative.”
The Guardian also makes a conscious effort to stay connected with its audience and promote interactivity. They have Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest links on nearly all of their podcasts, as well as other ways to contact the writers such as through the often lengthy series of comments on the individual podcast pages. The Guardian also promotes their podcasts on iTunes, Soundcloud, Mixcloud, and Audioboom to contact as large of an audience as possible. One of their more successful podcasts, Football Weekly, is “still going strong in our 10th year and constantly in the iTunes top 5.”
The Guardian seems to have led this foray into news podcasting, and their writers suggest they are always looking for the next big thing, so what will they revolutionize next?
