Jana Keil

Podcasts have established themselves in the digital media landscape as an integral part of information gathering and opinion formation for many users. The number of podcast users has stabilized at a high level in recent years. However, podcast producers, including podcast journalists, remain a largely unexplored group. This study focuses on podcast journalists and aims to identify the perceptions, motivations, and quality standards relating to their roles in podcasting. It is based on the results of an online survey of 378 podcast journalists from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Against a background of the concept of pioneer journalism, this article argues that podcast journalists are innovative contributors to the journalism ecosystem and have positioned themselves as new actors within the field. The findings of this study show that podcast journalists create, produce, and present journalistic content, for instance news or background stories, in the form of audio episodes, and see themselves as both educators and entertainers. They use the creative freedom of podcasting to engage deeply with their audiences and achieve high levels of listener loyalty. While financial gain is not their primary motivation, they have innovated new revenue models. They are committed to the quality of their content and emphasize comprehensibility and accuracy of information.

Despite the continuous growth in podcast consumption among listeners and podcast offerings on various streaming platforms, there remains a lack of research concerning podcasters. This paper presents an exploratory analysis of the profiles, practices, role perceptions, and values of podcasters based on the results of an online survey among 1 073 podcasters from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. The findings reveal that podcasters are predominantly male, middle-aged, and academically educated. Regarding their professional practices and profiles, the majority of podcasters lack prior experience in the field of journalism despite often taking on journalistic functions. Concerning their perception of their roles and values, podcasters place significant emphasis on the relevance of entertainment, education, and information dissemination. Overall, they demonstrate a strong orientation towards the needs of their audiences. As podcasts continue to gain popularity among audiences, studying podcast producers helps to better understand their content creation processes, prioritized topics, and approaches to engaging with their audiences.

News podcasts have emerged as a relevant medium, contributing to the collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of information in mass media discourse. This paper presents an analysis of the sociodemographic backgrounds, professional profiles, role perceptions, and values of news podcasters based on an online survey of 195 participants in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. The results reveal that news podcasters are predominantly male, middle-aged, and academically educated with no journalistic socialization or journalistic working experience. In terms of self-images and values, news podcasters emphasize the importance of education, information, and entertainment, while rejecting conventional concepts like criticism and control. Overall, they demonstrate a strong orientation towards the needs of their audiences and strive to be responsive to their preferences. Yet, the monetization of content through financing models such as sponsoring or native advertisement is not established on a broad scale. These findings shed light on the unique characteristics of news podcasters and provide insights into their status in a rapidly changing media environment.