Podcasts are an Increasingly Important Part of Today’s News Landscape - Horowitz

Podcasts are an Increasingly Important Part of Today’s News Landscape - Horowitz

Nearly 1-in-2 American adults and more than 2-in-3 American adults under 30 listened to a podcast in the past year. Perhaps more telling, one-in-five of all American adults and 3-in-10 adults under 30, say they listen to podcasts “at least a few times a week.”  These are among the key findings of Pew Research Center’s recently released in-depth national survey, probing this still relatively new medium.

 

“Following a steady increase in podcast listening over the past decade,” wrote Pew Research Center, “podcasts have become a big part of the normal routine--and news diet—of many Americans, especially younger adults.”   Podcasts cover a broad range of topics, including entertainment, politics. news you can use, true crime, technology and science. Among the most popular podcasts, for example, are the Joe Rogan Experience, which is somewhat eclectic, but tilts conservative; The Daily, which is produced by The New York Times and goes in-depth on topics in the news; Pod Save America, which features 3 former Obama staffers and leans liberal; and Crime Junkie, which centers on true crime.  

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The most listened to podcasts garner audiences that exceed or at least rival the top-rated cable news programs.  Joe Rogan has an audience of roughly 10 million; this is about 4 times the size of Sean Hannity’s audience for his prime time Fox News show. Crime Junkie attracts 10 million weekly listeners and about 2 million people tune into each podcast of The Daily.

 

While Americans are turning to podcasts for a variety of reasons, including entertainment and learning about a broad array of subjects, 2- out -of- 3 podcast listeners do get some of their news from this medium.  Additionally, nearly 9-in-10 podcast listeners who get at least some news from podcasts expect the news they are receiving through this medium to be accurate, Pew finds.  In contrast, only 4-in-10 of those who receive news through social media sites expect the news they are receiving this way to be accurate.

 

People who get some of their news from podcasts indicate that they receive unique information and insights; in other words, news they do not get in other mediums. “Nearly three-quarters of Americans who get news on podcasts (73%),” Pew reported, “say this happens at least sometimes, including three-in-ten who say they often hear unique news on podcasts.”

 

Podcast listeners also seem to be exposed to a broader range of political opinions than cable news viewers, who tend to watch the cable news network that most closely aligns with their ideology and partisan preference.  Nearly half (46%) of podcast listeners who “hear guest or host opinions about politics and government” indicate “they are exposed to about an even mix of views.”

 

People seem to engage more deeply with podcasts than with other mediums, making them a good place to promote books, movies, and other products.  Sixty percent of podcast listeners, for instance , say they have watched a movie, read a book or listened to a song, based on what they heard on a podcast; 36% say “they’ve tried out a lifestyle change – such as a workout routine or journaling – because of a podcast they listened to.”

Podcasts are a positive, information-rich addition to our fragmented media landscape.  They are not immune from the misinformation and rabid partisanship that plagues the rest of national media. On the whole, however, podcasts provide needed context and in-depth exploration of issues and other topics in a format that lends itself to keeping the attention of the listener. In today’s world --where we are bombarded with thousands of distracting marketing messages each week and constant other interruptions--attention is a scarce and valuable commodity. At this point in their development, the growth of podcasts is pretty much an unvarnished plus, adding quality to a news and information system that desperately needs more of it