Podcasting Lured The Radio Star

Podcasting is a lost art.

No… wait. The art of podcasting hasn’t been lost.

Oh! No. I got it now: The lost art of broadcasting is safe and sound thanks to podcasting! (“Podcasting is a lost art” sounds so much better.)

There are stats kept on who has the most downloaded podcast; how many people actually download; and what genres garner the largest audiences.

According to the stats, when it comes to entertainment podcasts; Adam Carolla is the son of Rickey Gervais, and both would be statistically eliminated if Howard Stern belched out a podcast.

But statistics don’t know how to tell a story; something Carolla, Gervais and Stern owe their success to.

Telling a good story is the key to success in the podcasting world. Those who do, and do so often, rise to the top.

This should sound distantly familiar.

At one point in history, people read something called newspapers, and radios roamed the planet. Writers had to get published, and broadcasters had to work their way up the ranks. If you had a talent for either, or both, you’d earn a chance or two to make it “big” (maybe even be able to afford a monthly car payment… possibly a mortgage).

Now you can just press the send button like pulling the lever on a slot machine. Thanks to the internet we all get to pretend we’re living the life.

To rise to the top of this massive, and often stinking heap of creativity still takes talent. Longevity in the digital swamp can’t be granted by name recognition. Oddly, out here, taste matters.

I’m a fan of the Tony Kornheiser Show (Hello fellow Littles). I first tuned into the TK Man from DC Town on ESPN radio. Then Tony got fired, or quit, or went to Monday Night Football (these are his go-to moves).

Then I found found him again on satellite radio, Sirius. Then he left. Then he came back; on XM radio. So I bought that service too. Then he left again… and I cancelled both services as they combined forces in a desperate move to cling to life.

Because of Tony Kornheiser I’ve needed to learn how to, in this order:

1. Tune a radio, 2. Stream audio online, 3. Setup and operate satellite radio, and 4. Download a podcast. The weirdest part of all of this is Tony himself needs to pay people to plug in his television, and changing lightbulbs is an epic procedure that is usually followed by Tony needing to hire a contractor to replace his light fixtures.

See, I know almost everything there is to know about Tony Kornheiser, because he told me himself. That’s why I follow him around so loyally, because I like hearing Tony talk about anything from ice cream to current events.

Tony, during one of the somber times when he was about to hang up the microphone again, explained his appeal this way: Radio is personal, the broadcaster is talking directly to each listener, usually in a closed and private scene. It’s about sharing.

Now Tony is causing radio stations to learn about new technology. Tony is too popular for radio… that is to say; Tony’s podcast is too popular for radio.

In a strange and financially panicked maneuver, Tony’s radio station, ESPN 980 out of Washington D.C., has not only delayed the podcast 24 hours, but has also benched Mr. Tony until August. (This is a quick and unfair assessment I am aiming at a management staff that is denying me my favorite podcast.)

If the radio station could simply harness the podcast for profit, then the good times would continue to roll. Alas very few people have figured out how to do just that.

Never Not Funny, a podcast hosted by comedian Jimmy Pardo has been charging (me and many others) a subscription fee in exchange for a 26 show season. They are currently about a third of the way through season 9, and have openly discussed how this model has helped the show flourish.

Other podcasts have gone the NPR route of asking for donations (NPR podcasts included). Some shows do commercial reads, a strategy that dates back to the early years of radio broadcasting. And other shows mention from time to time that it would be nice to somehow turn a profit from their podcasting work… at which point I begin to feel guilt about listening for free (the feeling passes).

Podcasting is all about the convenience. Listen when you want, to whatever you want. If your show can be heard anytime and anywhere, you’ve seemingly got an advantage over shows with static hours for listening. Computers and gadgets are getting easier and easier to use, and can do more and more.

The only question will be, “Who has talent?”; the age old question that moves every industry along. But, right now, the oldest question of industry needs answering: “How do I make money off of this?”