Podcast Insights & Insiders with John Wordock

I’m actually tapping out this column as I grill some burgers, hot dogs and corn. I’m constantly thinking about the future of podcasting - even when manning the grill. Pass the mustard. If Santa were delivering holiday packages in July, here are some things I would ask for: Clarity on audience measurement - The download started to lose importance several years ago when YouTube burst onto the scene and upset the measurement landscape. We need to unify as an industry.

CBS has a long history of broadcasting soap operas over the years. As the World Turns Guiding Light The Young & The Restless Now, under editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, CBS News has its own drama unfolding. Let’s call it Dumpster Fire. Weiss has fired some talented journalists and shaken up the Tiffany Network. The fabled show 60 Minutes has now lost correspondents Scott Pelley, Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi, not to mention executive producer Tanya Simon.

How cool. I got these statues via FedEx today. I won two Communicator Awards: One for Series Column, the other for Series Blog. A Hat Tip I would like to thank you for reading this column. Your support, feedback and story suggestions were all part of the writing process for me. I’d also like to thank those of you who financially supported this column over the last year. Your contributions gave me incentive to keep going.

The 99-year old radio operation at CBS News was the gold standard for broadcast journalism. But that mattered little in an age of YouTube and TikTok. What can podcasters learn? The death of CBS News Radio. A sad time for journalism in America. But not a surprise. Loud, brash and rude wins right now in America’s Creator Economy. The demise of CBS News Radio has me thinking about Edward R. Murrow these days. His reports from London for CBS Radio during World War Two were stuff of legend.

The 99-year old radio operation at CBS News was the gold standard for broadcast journalism. But that mattered little in an age of YouTube and TikTok. What can podcasters learn? The death of CBS News Radio. A sad time for journalism in America. But not a surprise. Loud, brash and rude wins right now in America’s Creator Economy. The demise of CBS News Radio has me thinking about Edward R. Murrow these days. His reports from London for CBS Radio during World War Two were stuff of legend.

Stephen Colbert would make a natural podcaster. Funny. Inquisitive. Knows how to give-and-take with famous guests. So, on a recent train ride between New York and D.C., I had ample time to daydream about a Colbert podcast. How would I format it? Who are the first guests? What special segments would I create?

Vegas baby, Vegas! Invited to moderate a panel on video, podcasts and artificial intelligence, I headed to this year’s NAB Show in Las Vegas. It was an honor, since the marquee conference for the National Association of Broadcasters usually draws more than 50,000 attendees. I don’t drink too often. I don’t smoke. And I don’t gamble.

I watched the earnings call with the top executives at Netflix the other day. Yes, I watched. No scratchy audio on this conference call with Netflix executives. Video all the way. And the earnings call appeared on YouTube. The Netflix Investor Relations team has its own channel there. How appropriate for the times. And that got me thinking… Will Netflix still have a commitment to podcasts in five years? Should YouTube, Spotify and Apple feel threatened?

I’m thinking a lot about Apple Podcasts these days. And video. And my new job here in the nation’s capital. As I multimedia journalist, I look forward to posting video on Apple via one of the four publishing partners in the months to come. But Apple adding video podcasts feels long overdue. Like five years overdue. I remember sitting in the cozy lobby at the Hotel Figueroa in downtown Los Angeles during the Evolutions conference several years ago.

Greetings from America’s wartime capital. Washington, D.C. now stands for the District of Craziness. Since starting my new job at a major news outlet here, I’ve covered the U.S. Supreme Court striking down President Trump’s tariffs, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunging more than 1,300 points in a matter of minutes, the price of oil racing toward $100 a barrel, and a shocking report that saw the U.S. economy lose 92,000 jobs. Oh. And there’s the War with Iran.