Podcast Prep

I listened to two podcasts, NPR's Up First, and Effectively Wild: A Fangraphs Podcast. I chose Up First because it was the podcast I listened to the most when I was commuting regularly. But I wasn't sure if it was too "radio" to count as a true podcast, so I added my favorite baseball podcast, Effectively Wild. 

There were a few distinct differences between the two podcasts when it came to delivery. 

 

On Up First, the hosts (A. Martinez and Leila Fadel) were authoritative when delivering news, and adopted a more curious and inquisitive tone when speaking with reporters from the field about the stories they were covering. It didn't sound like anyone was doing a "news voice" (which would have detracted from the authenticity of the hosts) and everyone was calm and relatively casual, even when discussing serious topics like nuclear negotiations with Iran. But it did sound just like listening to NPR on the radio. I suspect some - if not all - of the show was scripted, even though they did a great job of not making it sound scripted. 

Effectively Wild was different, because it didn't have to be authoritative, and there were no guest reporters, it was just the two hosts (Meg Rowley and Ben Lindbergh) speaking about current events in the baseball world and chatting about the sport. There were vocal slip-ups, places where the hosts briefly talked over each other, they went off on tangents, and the topics were less serious. It was much more like listening to a casual conversation and it felt thoroughly unscripted, like they were just working off an outline. I could definitely tell that they were both experts on the sport though, even when they had to pause to look things up. 

When it comes to news and sports, I prefer reading to listening, because I can more easily pause to look something up, dive deeper into a topic I'm curious about, or catch up on the story by reading previous reports about it if it's something unfamiliar to me. But that's a personal preference, and when reading's not an option (like if I'm driving) then I think audio - whether it's a podcast or on the radio - is a great way to cover these topics.

I found both shows' delivery techniques to be perfect for the content, and the biggest question I have after listening to both is whether my own podcast would be better scripted or unscripted. I'm pretty good at making something that's that's mostly scripted sound casual and unscripted and I'll likely have more confidence working from a script like I suspect Up First did, rather than just having an outline of points to hit, like I suspect Effectively Wild did. 

If I had another classmate to bounce ideas off of and have a conversation with, OR if it was a topic on which I'm already particularly well-versed, then I think I could just work off my outline. I think this will be a game-time decision for me. 

 What's most important in a podcast - or radio - is remembering that it's a one-on-one experience. You and the listener. So authenticity is key. And since this will be a news topic, it's very important to sound authoritative, and like I know what I'm talking about.