Background:
A direct outgrowth of radio and digitization of audio content was podcasting. This digital medium lets users listen to audio recordings, typically serialized shows or episodes. In the early days, podcasts were mostly produced by amateurs and hobbyists, but in recent years, the medium has become more professionalized.
Podcasting has disrupted traditional media by providing an alternative to mainstream news and entertainment. Independent creators were now able to create content and reach a wider audience. Podcasting allows for more in-depth coverage of critical issues and has given a platform to voices and perspectives that may not have been heard in traditional media.
According to a 2023 Pew Research Center poll, nearly half of U.S. adults listened to at least one podcast last year. While most listen to podcasts for entertainment, an increasing number of adults use podcasts to get their news.
Activity:
After studying Section 7.4 in Chapter 7, “Radio,” of Understanding Media and Culture, prepare your thoughts on the following questions in order to write a 1-2 page (about 500 words) essay:
Do you listen to podcasts, and if so, what is your primary purpose in doing so?
What uses and gratifications can podcasts satisfy or are satisfying for you or people you know who listen to them?
How have podcasts revolutionized the radio industry?
Describe a specific podcast and how it has shaped public discourse or promoted alternative perspectives.
How has using podcasts as a source for news impacted you, podcast listeners you know, or our society in general? For example, how might/does the information you know about political, cultural, or social issues differ from what other people in your life know/may know?
Requirements:
A thoughtful, thorough 1-2 page (about 500 words), double-spaced essay, in 12-point Times Roman or similar serif font, with all the basic components for a beginning, middle, and end.
The first paragraph should contain a thesis that introduces your main idea or position on the question posed to you in the assignment prompt. What is the point you intend to make in your answer?
The middle paragraphs should provide information, examples, and details to support your main idea or position. This is where you should show use because statements and detail what you know or think about the topic.
The final paragraph should sum up your main idea or position on the topic.
Support your comments with relevant information that you researched in the course’s learning resources.
Use APA-style in-text citations to cite the sources of the information that you used in assembling ideas for your argument.
Create a matching APA reference list at the end of the document.
Don’t assume any common knowledge of the reader. Support your comments with relevant information that you researched in the course’s learning resources. Use APA-style in-text citations to cite the sources of the information that you used in assembling ideas for your argument. Create a matching APA reference list at the end of the document.
