Podcast Insights & Insiders with John Wordock

Greetings from the sandy beaches near St. Petersburg, Florida. I’ve been here this week soaking up the sun. And answering my phone. My phone started blowing up Wednesday morning, when my old home Cumulus Podcast Network made some serious personnel cuts, including axing SVP Carolyn Chauncey, VP Jay Soderberg and executive producer Tanya Bustos. Cumulus has been hurting financially for several years now. So I wasn’t shocked. The legacy radio company is mired in bankruptcy and searching for a way out.

The headlines seem to happen every day. Video this. Video that. YouTube. Netflix. Spotify. Apple. Amazon Prime. I’m pausing to inject humor into this conversation with this column. It is summer after all. So let’s have fun. Whether you love video, hate video, fear video, dread video, or just don’t care, this song is for you. Please enjoy Video Podcast Blues! Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade.

With no Major League Baseball games to watch Thursday night due to the All-Star Break, I decided to watch something else - the Netflix earnings call. To its credit, Netflix offers a video version on its investor relations page. I tuned in hoping for news on video podcasts. What did I actually learn about video podcasts? Not much. Netflix seems really stingy with audience information these days. In fact, the company announced it will release its viewership report only once a year, starting next year.

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.