Funferal

“Podcast” radio will not be podcast

Wired currently has a story on the world’s first all-podcast station. At first I thought this meant all shows would be available for download, enabling time-shifting by listeners. But no, just like Gore’s plans for Current it means that the content will be produced by listeners/viewers but scheduled by professionals. A stream will be available online, but no downloadable files, as the music licensing would be more expensive.
Sounds a lot like Infinity (who own the station in question) just deciding to do away with paying on-air staff. Perhaps the interesting thing about podcast-style technologies is that listeners gain power over how and when they listen to content. That is obviously missing here. In terms of participatory media, sure members of the public get to contribute content, but it’s still an expert-driven, professionally managed structute – and I argue that management and organisation are the key determinants of what is participatory media, not content.