Podcasting; "the new broadcaster" – or "an open letter to the media"

A Podcast, simply put, is an audio file which is automatically downloaded onto the listeners computer and automatically pushed (or synchronized) to his or her iPod (or some other Podcast-supported MP3 player).

Podcasting is a subscription-based medium, and, so far, largely free to listen. But that's only part of the news. It doesn't have to cost a dime to produce a Podcast, so literally anyone with a mic, a computer and a connection to the Internet can become a new broadcaster.

That's the primary reason I've suggested for some time that radio get involved in this fast-moving technology right away, before the industry's left in the dust. Be sure that what I mean by "left in the dust" is that its clientele are going to Podcasting as a means to market their products without radio, so if radio wants to stay in that revenue loop, it better at least be offering Podcasting solutions for its partners.

Podcast nuts & bolts

Format
The audio file in question obviously has to be recorded and saved to a format that is common, almost exclusively MP3 today. Apple's iTunes service does use their proprietary AAS format and there may be a handful of Real-flavored shows (as in RAM or RM format), but MP3 has become the de facto standard for Internet audio, which is the reason we call the portable digital audio players "MP3 Players".

Process
Once a file is stored on some server some where, the publisher must then tell one or more of the many Podcast directories where to find it. This is where the Blogging technology comes in, so if you're not yet familiar with how Blogging works, I'll ask you to leave the room now (or search for "Blogging" at wikipedia.org and come back here).

Once the publisher is all done publishing, the audio file is "out there" and an RSS feed has been published (using a Podcast-supported blog engine), then a person can, with the use of an RSS news aggregator application (I could spend weeks explaining all these terms to you), subscribe to the Podcast and choose to keep it on their computer or, even better yet, sync it with his or her iPod (or some other MP3 Player) and take the show on the road, so to speak.

Google and Wikipedia.org are instrumental in your Podcasting research, so get on the net to learn more.

More about why radio ought to be embracing this technology. The fact is, most Podcasts are of a low quality and most Podcasters, as they're called, are not very polished. That may or may not be regarded as "part of the charm", but I do believe people get better with age and experience. Some of today's amateurs are tomorrow's Howard Sterns and Rush Limbaughs.

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Danny Bishop was host & producer of the WHO Radio Wiseguys. He and his former co-host Corey Allen now publish a Podcast across two cities (New York and Des Moines) called "The Allen Bishop Show".

How to keep radio's birds in the air

Mega broadcaster Clear Channel already has some interests in one of its biggest potential competitors: satellite radio. But that ownership might not be enough to insulate the media giant from catastrophe if the newer medium eats away at terrestrial radio's market share -- particularly if startups join XM and Sirrius in the emerging battle for aural ad revenues. The thing that could make a difference for old time radio is getting more local programming off the ground, in new communications initiatives. And the most viable way to do that is by embracing the new wave of smaller, more efficient aerospace developers, like tSpace and Scaled Composites, to launch them.

Look, there's not so much complicated technology in satellites that a few motivated broadcasters can't achieve some fruitful R&D. The largest expense in the venture has always been getting the little buggers into orbit. That's where a strong partnership would really come in handy.

Confessed BTK serial killer Dennis Rader

WICHITA, Kansas -- Can the the totality of a man or woman be derived from the worst or best act they have committed? Is forgiveness a function of condoning an offenders' act?

It may be simply choosing not to carry a poisonous resentment.

Judgment in these cases is not for a layman to impose. At most, it is for the creator, and at least for the morally studied. I am neither. I have merely a passing acquaintence with morality.

At the same time, I have not been convinced that a death sentence can be justified. It seems too easy an answer to me and I would rather see crimes against poeple be answered by the generation of electricity by themselves, through treadmills and squirrel cage inductance.