This is K PBS Midday Edition I am Maureen Cavanaugh. One of the big public drug testing success stories of last year was an episodic audio investigation called Serial and its subject was a murder that happen nearly 20 years ago in Baltimore, and the man who claims he is been falsely convicted of that crime. This is from the first episode. [ music ] For the last year I have spent every working day trying to figure out where high school kid was for an hour after school one day in 1999. Or if you want to get technical about it, and apparently I do, where high school kid was for 21 minutes after school one day in 1999. This search sometimes feels undignified and I've had asked about teenagers sex lives, where, how often, with who, notes passed in class, drug habits and relationships with parents that I'm not a detective or private investigator or even a crime reporter. That yes, every day this year I try to figure out and now abide of a 17-year-old boy. The 12 part, Serial was introduced to NPR radio show This American Life and it continued as a podcast and that is what created a phenomenon. Now media outlets from commercial outlets to K PBS are looking for new audio podcast content. Joining me are John Barth chief content Officer. with public radio exchange, also known as PRX, John Barth welcome to the program. Hi Maureen, thanks for having me. You're welcome. This is creator Nate of memory podcast and welcome to the show. And John Decker is program director of K PBS and John welcome to the show. Thanks Maureen. John Barth according to research there are a lot of people who do not know what a podcast is so could you give us a definition? Oh wow you gave me an easy one. [ laughter ] The podcast is about uses way for a listener to consume audio in a local environment. Imagine not being constrained as a listener to when a key feed might be on the air, all things considered, you get to pick which shows you want to listen to and that you are able to pick programs that are more likely than not never going to make it to air but the variety of content and talent and storytelling is pretty broad. So if you have a mobile phone and you have access to iTunes, you are able to download the podcast from there and there are many other mobile apps where you can select podcasts, download the audio, essentially create your own playlist and listen to what you want on your own schedule. John Barth how is a podcast different from a radio program? Obviously in the fact that you can select it and listen to it anytime you want to but how else is a different? You know all broadcasts are constrained by two very big things. One is the FTC. Every station's license by the federal government and that being the case there are some things we cannot say on the air unless they have something to do with language, we watch our back in regards to issues of might offend audience. The second thing is, like it or not, it is a limited media minutes format and so it is built on a clock. And the clock is therefore some good reasons, but honestly if you are a very creative individual, having to end a very good story at five minutes and 30 seconds when you know that there are stories that are at least one hour that can be very frustrating. So podcasting is a much more clear and open field for a wide variety of creative people who do not want this kind of constraints. John Decker I have heard podcasting referred to as audio blogging. Is that a fair comparison? I think maybe it was a number of years ago, podcasting has been around for quite a while and we have been doing it these days since 2005. I think that it used to be, but it is grown up now, as have logs have grown up. You sort of see the majority of that content and the voices and people and talent have matured so much. I do not think it is that anymore because our expectations of podcasts of any content nowadays, online or digital, is so much higher than it used to be. Before it was a wild West and it did not matter what you blog and now it really does because it is clear there is an audience for this stuff and it is clear people want high-quality content. I think the answer is maybe a long time ago that our expectations of changed so much. John Barth, the RX has launched a podcast network called radio Tobia. I wonder if you could give us idea of the kinds of subjects that are available in this whole host of podcasts. Yeah, radio Topia is one of the number of podcasts out there, and when we think of a podcast network we're thinking of ways we can actually have a group of storytellers and a group of podcast producers, and they orbit around a similar theme and ours is around stories and stories telling. The ranges are everything from a stroke on 99% to massive car passed podcasts in that is about to sign in the real world, but more so than that, it is a really curious and highly produced show, as John Decker just said and it really has very high production standards. There is another great show called Criminal. It wasn't our intention but came wrong at the right time that Serial was ending. That has captured a very large audience. [ Indiscernible-low volume ] many of your listeners on public radio know the Kitchen Sisters is incredible, and [ Indiscernible ] another great podcast or has one on radio Tobia. There is a range of storytelling styles and both men and women are they are so we are very much can mated to diverse very much committed to diverse voices. [ Indiscernible-muffled speaker ] Let me speak to a man who is actually producing his own podcast, Nate DeMeo has a podcast called Memory Palace bring stories of history to life with humor, imagery, music and great writing. Let's hear little bit of an episode from the podcast of the Memory Palace. [ music ] 50 words written about the Arctic bowhead whale after learning that he can live up to 200 years. [ music ] There is a well right now whale right now who may have escaped a Nantucket carpenters harpoon in 1850 anti-Japanese whale in 1950. [ music ] Who wants her the distant songs of [ Indiscernible-distorted audio ][ music ] That is a very short episode from Nate demands Memory Palace, welcome to the program. Thanks Maureen. What you like about producing in the podcast format? I started Memory Palace with two drives, one was a creative one which was to make full stories about the past and findings that move me and to move an audience. The other aspect of that was both professional and technological. When I started Memory Palace I was working in straight public radio, I was working for marketplaces as an editor and producer and occasional reporter. I had a vision for creating essentially one of the weekend shows you listen to bike This American Life centered around American history and I started the podcast is a way to try out different types of segments. And to improve and to mistreat my abilities as a potential host for a potential show. The technology was there that I could just put that out in the world and someone might be able to listen to it. What I discovered really quickly was that it was really hard to break into that sort of rigid clock format and sort of the media and public radio, it was hard to get one of those coveted hour-long slot and there are just not that many of them, every station seems to run the exact same ones. I found I could make these stories and put them out in the world and people started to listen. Very quickly, actually, people found the Memory Palace and I found I really like doing it. I liked that I did not have to hit that clock that John Barth was talking about, like that episode you just heard is a typical one and it is only 50 words long and only a minute and a half long. But I can do that in a way that I could not if I were trying to squeeze that in, all things considered, or if I were trying to have that be a part of the magazine program. The next episode could be 14 minutes long and the next episode could be nine minutes. And I found the format to be incredibly freeing. Now you have been doing Memory Palace for a while now, but since Serial took off in this amazing way there really has been a game changer for your podcast as well hasn't it? Yes absolutely. Serial has been very good to me despite the fact I had nothing to do with Serial. I hear all the time, as I bring my daughter to kindergarten and the other parents are like hey, have you heard about this guys podcast question I listen to Serial now I'm looking for another think and I think there were whole lot of people listen to it, often older demographics who are be public radio fans, who heard about this Serial thing and a new like This American Life and they took the opportunity to find the podcast on the iPhone. I absolutely have benefited, literally my audience is already sizable terms of podcast audience members and that has doubled and now tripled, literally just because industry is reached to the tipping point where there was a big enough audience out there looking for stuff of quality or whatever. And there was already a podcast called Memory Palace that was in existence and how to track writer record and had enough supporters to recommend it. So I am basking in the glow on it is changed to the economics of what I am able to do with a podcast. Let me go to John Decker because this goes right to the heart of why K PBS starting the Explorer project the putting out a call for podcast content. Tell us about that. Yes, the Explorer content or project is been around for three or four years and what we have done so far as we literally incubated and created new shows for television. That was our primary need for K PBS was to increase more of a local voice and the project has been very successful. We have launched keys of the craft debuting in May and lots of terrific shows we're very proud of. Like Nate was saying, Serial was a game changer and it really showed how podcast could really crack through and gain a presence in the overall market. So what we are going to do with Explorer 2016 is pivoted and ask for applications and ideas for podcasts in San Diego and we will do the RFP process, request for proposal, is online right now, and people can fill out applications and there is until May 15. My goal is that a year from now will have these podcasts ready to go and we will find probably three and we are looking for a minimum of six episodes each. The reason that we're doing it, as part of our mission it K PBS and in public media in general is to increase local content and increase our sense of place and really embrace the creative process and podcasting provides a me opportunities. How long to podcasting hopefuls have to get the proposals to K PBS? May 15 so about one month for now. And John what is your take, where will podcasts end up in the audio broadcasting world? Do they surpass webcast radio or audiobooks? Boy, if I knew that answer I would be doing a different business. I think that the timelines are pretty impressive and I think all of us who have been around media as consumers and creators, you know you are careful about predictions because it is a rapidly changing environment. Radio does not look at his dying at all, it is still the largest reach of some of the options here, podcasting the is on an incredible rise, conferences people talk about this being a podcast moment, so I think you'll see podcast numbers and descriptions and the numbers of creation go up and up and up. Radio has to figure out, especially public radio, what it is going to do in an audience driven medium this year as opposed to a network driven medium? That is the biggest change. I have to leave it there gentlemen, I have been speaking with John Barth, chief content Officer. for PRX, Nate DeMeo of Memory Palace podcast and the latest podcast is about the booth but Booth Brothers and John Decker, of K PBS, thank you all. Thank you.
Media outlets are trying to tap into the podcast genre after the audio investigation “Serial” became one of the big public broadcasting success stories of 2014.
The podcast focuses on a murder that happened nearly 20 years ago in Baltimore and the man who claims he was falsely convicted of that crime.
The 12-part series was introduced on the NPR radio show "This American Life," but it continued as a podcast. According to the Guardian, “Serial” is the fastest podcast to reach 5 million downloads in Apple’s iTunes store.
This is one of the reasons media outlets like KPBS are soliciting for podcast shows.
“It’s clear that there’s an audience for this stuff,” John Decker, KPBS director of programming, told Midday Edition on Tuesday. “It’s clear that people want high quality content.”
Nate DiMeo who spent a decade in public media created the podcast, “The Memory Place.” The show tells historical narratives that range from five minutes to 15.
“What I found is that I can make these stories and put them out to the world and people started to listen,” DiMeo said. “I just really like doing it.”
KPBS is accepting podcast proposals with the goal of funding three shows next year. The deadline to apply is May 15.
For more information or to submit a proposal, go to kpbs.org/tv/kpbs-explore/.
