Podcasts: How they complement the news

Whether it’s a daily episode encompassing the biggest story of the day – such as the BBC’s Newscast or RNZ’s The Detail – or a series focussing on a single story – such as Ukrainecast or the ABC’s Coronacast – podcasts are now an essential and established part of a public broadcaster’s response to news.

So why are podcasts now so valuable for public media, and what sort of service do they provide to audiences?

This was the subject of a session organised by the Public Media Alliance for the Radiodays Asia conference held in Kuala Lumpur in September 2023, with participants from the news division of the BBC, from Ukraine’s public broadcaster, Suspilne, and from the Malaysian digital media company, Between the Lines.

Here are some of the main points made by presenters during the session:

1. Podcasts can be set up quickly.

The first time the BBC considered establishing Ukrainecast was 48 hours before the war, as BBC News producers, Sam Bonham and Jonathan Aspinwall explained. Two days later, and the first episode was published, complete with logo, music, presenters, and everything else that goes into the development of a podcast. It was seven days from when Between the Lines (BTL) was first approached by Dr. Bridget Welsh to produce their 2023 election podcast, Bridget’s Kerusi Panas to the series being released.

Podcasts often take weeks and months to be launched, but the experiences outlined by both the BBC and BTL demonstrated that – although stressful at the time – podcasts can be launched at relatively short notice. This means as a medium, it can be flexible and deployed urgently to respond to breaking news stories, which demand a podcast for additional context.

2. Having the right talent to present the podcast is vital.

Victoria Derbyshire was one of the first calls for leading Ukrainecast. Having presented her own programme, not only was she an experienced and recognisable name to front the podcast, but her style and emotional intelligence meant she was perfect for a podcast which would require enormous sensitivity. Effort was also put into getting the right balance of the other presenters. Vitaly Shevchenko’s involvement was credited for Ukrainecast’s success, as it provided audiences with a direct link to the conflict. Meanwhile, Gabriel Gatehouse brought in podcast-knowhow and regional expertise.

Choosing the right presenter requires an understanding of how the podcast is going to feel and be styled before the recording has even started. Yet its importance to the success of a podcast is unrivalled. Similarly, the CEO of Trident Media and BTL, Darshini Kandasamy, said that Dr. Welsh – who led Bridget’s Kerusi Panas – had name recognition, and was a trusted person to tell political stories.

3. It can open your content up to different audiences.

Prior to their election podcast, Between the Lines produced a daily newsletter, which had a loyal following. This foray into podcasting provided two opportunities: firstly, it allowed them to tell a different type of story, which was not being covered by other media; and secondly, they were able to expose themselves to a different market.

Podcasts have undoubtedly democratised the audio market. Audio creators are no longer dependent on radio networks for airtime, nor bound by schedules. Instead, there is an opportunity for different types of media organisations – print, digital, and broadcast – to expand their offering in audio. In embracing this opportunity, media companies can expand their own coverage, explore different ways of storytelling, add additional context, and reach a new audience as well.

There is also a media freedom perspective. In being distributed digitally, the Supervisory Board Member for Ukraine’s public broadcaster, Vadym Miskyi, said podcasts have remained accessible to Ukrainian audiences in Russian-held territory. This means Suspilne is still reaching and serving audiences currently under Russian control. This benefit has also been seen in other countries where media is strictly censored, such as in Myanmar.