Turn Up the Volume: Tenets of Good Podcasting

At some point during the research stage of Turn Up the Volume, I began creating a list of best practices for podcasters, sort of a “10 Commandments” all podcasters should follow if they wanted to succeed. Each new tenet was based on themes that had emerged from my conversations with the 60 or so podcasters…

Turn Up the Volume: Resource List

The following resource list can be used to supplement the materials in Turn Up the Volume, providing useful reading material and podcasts that can be added to the curriculum. Articles Digital Publishing: How the New York Times and Washington Post are Changing the Podcast Field “Edison Research Hacks the Commuter Code: AM/FM listeners switch 22…

Exercise 1 – Breaking Down a Podcast Episode

Instructions: Pick a podcast episode with multiple elements, such as music, interviews, news clips and natural sound. As you’re listening to the episode, pay attention to the timecode and make notes of when each segment begins. After you’ve listened to the entire episode, go back over your timeline and flesh out your notes, describing what…

Exercise 2 – Compare and Contrast 2 Podcast Episodes

The more episodes a podcaster produces, the better his approach to audio production will become. In fact, many things may change over the lifetime of a podcast, including its structure or focus. Instructions: Choose a podcast to listen to, preferably one that’s been around for a while, with at least 50 or even 100 episodes….

Exercise 3 – Telling a Story with Identifiable Sound

Podcasts are an audio medium, so a produced piece needs to fill in all the details that our other senses would normally pick up on. How do you tell someone that it’s night or day? Or if you’re inside or outside? Maybe you’re telling a story about a sea captain on boat. Does the narrator…

Exercise 4 – Editing an Audio Interview for a Podcast

Occasionally, a producer will have to edit a piece of audio they didn’t record and make it work as a standalone podcast. This means cleaning up the audio to improve the sound quality, identifying the strongest elements and weaving them together to tell a cohesive narrative. They may also have to record wraparound narration and…