Today I want to discuss something that I’ve never brought up here before but that have become painfully obvious to me the last few weeks. Professionalism in podcasting, or rather the lack of it.
If you ask someone on the street what podcasting is and how he would define it, it is likely that you would encounter two answers: “What the hell is podcasting?” and “Low quality radio”. The first answer will probably change over time as more people get used to this new media. The second is another, in some ways more serious matter. In this post I hope to somewhat explain my standpoint, but more importantly raise the question of what we can do to change this view of podcasting.
The first thing we got to do is change the quality. I’m not talking about the content, but the overall sound. Unfortunately, when I think of podcasting I often think low-budget microphones, lack of proper preamps and an overall production and sound that is a long way from sounding professional. I know there are a lot of exceptions, but I keep finding this to hold true in general. I try to raise the awareness of this in the ways that I can, i.e., through posting about mic techniques and general sound shaping guidelines.
The truth is, if you want something truly professional sounding, you will have to learn a lot about recording and mixing techniques and spend a lot of cash on gear, or hire someone who can do these things. Don’t think for a second that the radio stations out there are sitting with a $50 USB microphone.
With this said, I will post a serious of posts on more high-end podcast production and discussion. Now I realize that not everyone want to spend a lot of money on these things, especially not if their podcasts don’t generate money in return, so I will of course continue to post about things suited for those who don’t have their pockets full of cash as well.
Originally posted on October 19, 2010 @ 1:37 pm