Podcasting the Pandemic: Exploring Storytelling Formats and Shifting Journalistic Norms in News Podcasts Related to the Coronavirus

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic dominated headlines at the same time that mainstream news organizations began adding more podcasts to their digital storytelling platforms. This popular form of audio journalism appears to be unrestricted by traditional journalism practices and constraints of deadlines and space. Few academic studies thus far have examined the characteristics of news podcasts (i.e., shows created by professional news organizations) and where they fit within the journalism landscape. Through a content analysis of 40 news podcast episodes related to the coronavirus pandemic, this study explores the extent to which narrative storytelling devices (voice, character development, scene setting, dialogue, dramatic tension), and other elements, such as opinion, were incorporated into the sample. Results show all but one episode utilized narrative storytelling elements, but the degree of editing and production varied widely. Results also demonstrate an overall shift away from journalistic norms of objectivity and toward interpretive reporting in this emerging format. Reporters and hosts often appear as both characters and experts in the episodes, and narrative elements serve to emphasize storytelling over content.

The daily news podcast ecosystem from the strategy and business model perspectives

“…Daily news podcasts are also viewed as tools for elevating transparency and journalistic authority (Perdomo; Rodrigues-Rouleau, 2021; Dowling; Miller, 2019) through strategies such as "intraprofessional dialogs" (Lundell, 2010) or conversations between journalists as a way to share with audiences hidden details from the editorial department and to leverage their knowledge. Other studies reveal a shift from objectivity toward interpretive reporting in this format (Nee;Santana, 2021). Reporters and hosts often appear as both characters and experts, and narrative elements emphasize storytelling over content.…”

“…Audio has extended its reach by making content available on smartphones (Pedrero-Esteban; Barrios-Rubio; Medina-Ávila, 2019). Users listen to podcasts in various situations, such as while driving or multi-tasking, to be informed and entertained (Nee;Santana, 2021;Newman;Gallo, 2019;.…”

Latent Cultural Bias in Soundtracks of Western News Coverage From Early COVID-19 Epicenters

“…Yet it seems that scholarship has neglected the soundtracks of news reporting, with the ocularcentrism of communication and media studies predominating in analyses of audiovisual pandemic coverage (Parisi et al, 2017 ; Duff, 2020 ; Geddes, 2020 ). Such publications typically do not account for audio elements at play in constructing persuasive news items (Tagg, 1999 ; Kišiček, 2018 ; Wang et al, 2021 ), though knowledge about the unseen sources of manipulation is vitally relevant to a public that believes they are hearing and seeing the truth about the global crisis (Nee and Santana, 2021 ). The literature of music psychology in particular has addressed how the realm of sound (i.e., vocal tone, contextual sounds, and background music) contributes to the emotional state of the target audience (Tan et al, 2013 ), which applies in the context of news videos (Pereira et al, 2016 ; Baumgartner and Wiradhany, 2021 ).…”

How Indian Newsrooms Pod: Studying the Practices of Journalistic Podcasting in India

“…A Reuters-Oxford study (Newman & Gallo, 2019) makes a strong case for podcasting being considered as a legitimate content format for journalism, as observed amongst top media publishing outlets across the world. And while podcasts will not totally replace the currently existing news formats, they appear to expand the reach of journalism (Nee & Santana, 2021) and hence deserve academic enquiry.…”

“…Steensen (2011) had spoken about the 'Featurization of journalism', stressing on how journalism's social function is being eroded due to this. A latest study examining the content of journalistic podcasts produced during the pandemic (Nee & Santana, 2021) confirms that more narrative style is employed in the content presentation and this format of journalism is slowly moving away from the erstwhile journalistic norm of 'objectivity' and going more towards interpretative reporting.…”