The Guardian discusses Podcasting with WPF

An interview with Guardian Unlimited's Neil McIntosh

Talk about getting off on the right foot. The Guardian's first exposure to podcasting in late 2005 was hooking up with Ricky Gervais, which propelled it to first place in iTunes, and brought great exposure to the newspaper and website.

There were several reasons that promoted the Guardian to the podcast domain in earnest. First, readers wanted audio programs and were gradually subscribing to broadband internet, thus enabling them to download the programs. Second, the Guardian realized that they had much of the talent and resources required, with broadcast-experienced journalists around the world who regularly appeared on television and radio.

Persuading the company to enter the domain was not easy. First, being traditionally a text and image based entity, getting management to “do audio” was not simple. Also, BBC cast an imposing shadow, with skeptics at the Guardian questioning the rational, given BBC’s ability to flood the market with audio content. The Guardian took the leap. The decision was slightly easier due to the fact that it is not a purely for-profit company. Owned by Scotts Trust, the Guardian is able to experiment with new ideas, without having “the strict bottom line” serve as the ultimate veto early one.

The results have been very positive, have far exceeded the business case in terms of revenue and profitability. Good news for the Guardian and the industry.

What are the factors behind the success? Most important, develop talent internally. The Guardian did not “throw money at outside third parties”, but rather developed the talent internally. Its podcast team consists of a devoted group of producers and editors who have learned from experience what it takes to produce engaging shows. The Guardian does, however, use an external podcast production company for one of its podcasts.

Is the content unique for the podcasts? In most cases, the content is used in text format for the newspaper and website. However, the podcast can provide much greater detail than is possible in the newspaper and website, where space is limited. Also, the Guardian does produce some podcast-only content, such as the Islamophonic podcast.

How does the Guardian see the future of podcasting? Clearly in the mobile section. To get away from the geek factor and reach the mass market, the Guardian believes that mobile podcasting in crucial.

Monte Silver