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| TipSheet Biweekly news tips on environmental stories and sources. | |
| Editor: Joe Davis
| Date: Oct. 12, 2005 ENVIRONMENTAL PODCASTS: NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR THE BEAT "Podcasting" (a type of on-demand "radio" delivered for free online and played on portable MP3 players at your convenience) has been taking the media world by storm since it debuted just under a year ago. Today, thousands of podcasts (audio shows) are available from all over the world, on every conceivable topic and representing every type of perspective. Some are re-issued episodes from established radio shows (such as NPR's "Living on Earth"), while others are produced by organizations, government agencies, companies, institutions, and individuals. Quality and credibility vary widely, of course. Still, much of this programming is surprisingly good. WHY LISTEN? Several podcasts address environmental topics. If you own a portable MP3 player, podcasts can become a useful, convenient, and entertaining addition to your media diet. Like blogs, podcasts also can offer ahead-of-the curve leads and intriguing angles for the environment beat. And consider this: It's hard to put a blog in your pocket and check it out while jogging! WHY CREATE YOUR OWN PODCAST? For reporters, podcasting represents a new way to tell news stories — either as stand-alone programming, or as special audio complements or supplements to traditional print/broadcast stories. This doesn't have to be a complex or costly undertaking. Compared to producing broadcast-quality audio, creating and distributing a podcast is technically simple and inexpensive. Much of what you need for this job is actually free. While the media business model for podcasting is sketchy at this point, the barriers to entry are so low that it's easy to experiment. It may especially make financial sense for nonprofit-produced programming, since it gives you instant, cheap access to a potentially global audience. That said, podcasting definitely does not suit every person or organization. The best way to figure out what podcasting might offer you is to start listening to a few shows, and go from there. RECOMMENDED ENVIRO PODCASTS To get you started, here's a preliminary list of recommended environmental podcasts. To find out how to access these shows, first read "How To Receive And Listen To Podcasts." In a nutshell, to listen to podcasts you need software that allows you to subscribe to and automatically download the shows you want. The latest version of iTunes includes this ability, and other free programs are available for all platforms. Also, Odeo is a free web-based service that makes podcasts easy. The "feed" URL listed for each show is the address you subscribe to in your "podcatcher" software (which automatically downloads the latest shows and stores them so you can move them to your iPod or other MP3 player — see the tutorial mentioned above). It is meant to be cut-and-pasted into your podcatcher software — it will not yield a viewable page in a conventional browser.
SEJ is compiling a list of environmental podcasts. Got a favorite one? Please send the show name, creator, brief description, site URL, and feed URL to Amy Gahran.
TipSheet provides biweekly news tips to notify journalists of potential environmental stories and sources. TipSheet is a joint product of SEJ and the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation. Your contributions are needed; please send them to sej@sej.org. For free subscription, send name and full contact information to sej@sej.org. Last revised May 26, 2008 The Society of Environmental Journalists © 1994-2008 Society of Environmental Journalists |
