Audio storytelling as a possibility for authentic media
Does the candor, originality, and transparency of podcasting offer a new opportunity for authenticity in journalism?
Like many in the wake of the election results, I’ve been at a loss as to what to do next or how to feel. Friends and family are too terrified at the moment to be helpful in this matter. My Facebook and Twitter feed are inundated with post-election lamenting and panic: friends swearing to block one another, name calling and blame-gaming, glibness and vitriol. None of these responses — whether a condemnation of those who voted for Trump or a plea to find common ground — have reduced my confusion or given me cause for action. They are too raw, too angry to be a steadying force. Not that my friends’ status’ have any obligation to center me and be reasonable — they have every right to express themselves as they need to at this particular moment. Nonetheless, if not friends and loved ones, where ought we seek guidance?
Media, it would seem, is an obvious answer. We expect media to be more intentional and refined in its response, though given this election cycle it is understandable why this would appear an absurd notion. Cable news, for instance, certainly hasn’t provided any comfort. For the most part, it has been caught up in the “historical” occasion of this moment, without really dealing with what has occurred or what might truly be at stake for millions of people in this country. I also have not been overly impressed with print and online media, as it seems to suffer from the opposite problem of cable news: it’s too polarizing and damning. Article after article with provoking headlines are pasted into status boxes and flooded into the social media ecosystem only compounds the feelings of anxiety and frustration.
Podcasts, on the other hand, have been refreshing exception. In the wake of the election, I have been impressed with the candor, originality, and transparency with which podcasts and their hosts have approached the election results. Sure, numerous podcasts, particularly within the round-table political genre, have been been engaged with the world-wide media apology tour for misleading the public (lookin’ at you, Keepin’ it 1600), and political podcasts certainly served a purpose to comfort as much as to inform. Nonetheless, it is undeniable that podcasts became a prominent force in shaping the narrative of this election, and speaks to the influence the medium is now wielding.
In striking contrast to the apologists and round-tables, however, we have a piece like the one produced by Nate Dimeo of The Memory Palace. Sitting in a hotel in Arizona the night before the election, Dimeo intimately addresses his listeners telling them that all we wants to do is read Walt Whitman’s poem, “Song of Myself.” In its entirety, I might add. The result is an hour and half long episode of strictly the poem, which perfectly elucidated the feelings I had pent up over the course of this entire election cycle. The poem explores division and wholism, gaiety, deviancy, love and sex, but most importantly, it distills far better than any piece of mainstream journalism could that we are truly, metaphysically even, in this thing together.
Dimeo’s choice, and the choices of other producers (see: World According to Sound and Reveal’s conversation with a white nationalist) demonstrate the originality and thought-provoking possibilities of podcasts as a medium. I would argue there is no other journalistic, or even artistic, medium at this point in time that has this level of creative freedom within a mainstream outlet. What allows for this freedom is that so often the podcasts are completely controlled by the creators themselves, or by very small editorial teams. They are not beholden to advertisers or network executives, allowing them to focus on the stories most interesting to the creators.
Podcasts have the ability to take risks that result in powerful, moving stories that push us out of our assumptions as media consumers.
Podcasts also possess a flexibility in content unavailable in many media spaces today. Length of episodes, for example, fit the needs of the show, instead of having to be hemmed or extended to meet network standards. Furthermore, The voices of who gets to tell the story also tend to be more dynamic and diverse within the podcast sphere. Ear Hustle, the recent winner of Radiotopia’s Podquest, is a perfect demonstration of this. The show is produced and hosted by two inmates at San Quentin State Prison, and explores the hidden stories of incarceration told from the perspective of those that actually experience it. Podcasts have the ability to take risks that result in powerful, moving stories that push us out of our assumptions as media consumers. When I started listening to Dimeo’s piece, I was stopped in my tracks. It was so surprising and gorgeous that it caught me vulnerable, allowing me to experience a genuine feeling. The confluence of these creative liberties gives producers the ability to react to events, such as the election, with spontaneity, and therefore with authenticity.
Podcasts are certainly not at the same level mainstream consumption as television, which provides them a little more wiggle room with editorial choices than their visual counterparts. Yet, it is clearly a fast growing market with an ever growing listener base, and media professionals are taking the medium seriously. Podcasts have demonstrated that surprise and originality can still exist within mainstream media, and now more than ever it is essential that we stop and reflect on the media that we produce and consume. I hope that as podcasts continue to “grow-up” into a full fledged media outlet, they will retain this innovative spirit.
The Bello Collective is a publication + newsletter about podcasts and the audio industry. Our goal is to bring together writers, journalists, and other voices who share a passion for the world of audio storytelling.
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