Podcast is a genre that many news agencies are focusing on shaping and developing to reach the press public in a professional way, increase communication efficiency and of course, in terms of press economics .

As someone with “real-life” experience with radio journalism, Journalist Dong Manh Hung said: “The advantage of Podcast is its high entertainment value, many formats, and many creative ways. In particular, Podcasts are broadcast on many platforms, surpassing traditional radio which only has fixed time slots on AM and FM waves.”

The Podcast Skills Training Course is organized by the Center for Journalism Training, Vietnam Journalists Association in collaboration with Can Tho City Journalists Association for reporters and editors of local press agencies in the South Hau River region.

The Podcast Skills Training Course is organized by the Center for Journalism Training, Vietnam Journalists Association in collaboration with Can Tho City Journalists Association for reporters and editors of local press agencies in the South Hau River region.

In fact, Podcast is a multimedia format that is provided periodically and can be easily shared and exchanged in an online environment. Podcasts can exist in popular formats such as: audio and multimedia combination (sound, graphics, video ...). The outstanding point of Podcasting is the form of providing information in the form of podcasts that people can exploit (watch, listen, share ...) online or download and exploit on personal technology devices.

The novelty of Podcast is to approach the public in the direction of exploiting and focusing on specific audiences, potential audiences. The audience of each Podcast program is not simply to provide "what we have" but is formed on the basis of research and understanding the needs of the public to maximize the effectiveness of information. The novelty of Podcast is also an inevitable trend to respond to new habits, new access preferences, and new ways of choosing information of today's press audiences.

“Podcast is radio but not radio,” Journalist Dong Manh Hung shared an interesting proposition about this genre. Compared to traditional radio, Podcast is a genre that puts the public in the center. Listeners choose to listen/actively listen when coming to Podcast from the need for personalized information according to their interests. On a digital platform, the approach to Podcast is extremely convenient. Moreover, Podcast files can be downloaded, saved and listened to without any restrictions on Internet connection conditions. The intimacy and interaction of Podcast is high, and people with similar interests and Podcast channel hosts can easily connect into a community in the digital space.

Before merging with Ca Mau Provincial Radio and Television Station, in an effort to innovate, Ca Mau Newspaper had shaped and built Podcast programs. (Photo of the interface of the Podcast program of Ca Mau Electronic Newspaper).

Before merging with Ca Mau Provincial Radio and Television Station, in an effort to innovate, Ca Mau Newspaper had shaped and built Podcast programs. (Photo of the interface of the Podcast program of Ca Mau Electronic Newspaper).

Another issue shared by Journalist Dong Manh Hung: “Here, it is not simply bringing traditional radio programs to the digital environment to become Podcasts. Podcasts have their own unique features compared to traditional radio, the core of which is personalization”. Instead of a general, dry, and purposeless way of communicating information, Podcasts focus on the connection and empathy between the host and the audience, thereby increasing the effectiveness of information and creating a group of supportive and accompanying audiences. This is also the reason why some Podcast channels of individual hosts are currently achieving great success, with a very large loyal audience.

Furthermore, the topics and formats of Podcasts are extremely diverse, depending on the audience and the communication goals of the host/unit. The life of Podcasts is also very diverse, and can be continued in a serial (episode) or daily (day-by-day) format; even with Podcasts, multi-part record-style radio broadcasts are implemented completely coherently and effectively.

Talking about the issues to build a Podcast channel, Journalist Dong Manh Hung shared: “First, think about the public, see what the public needs. Second, the approach, personalize, be intimate and create closeness, trust, and connection so that the public can come to the channel among the myriad of choices in the digital age. Write a good script, choose a good, emotional voice, clear sound and skillfully apply the skills of other types of journalism to make the Podcast truly vivid and emotional.”

For local press agencies, Journalist Dong Manh Hung suggested: “There needs to be openness and determination from the editorial office. Groups should be selected and organized to implement Podcast programs. As mentioned, look at the public and consider and build a long-term plan to “feed” a topic, a Podcast channel. Podcasts on digital platforms can build countless channels, from individuals or newspaper editorial offices. Talking about resources to make Podcasts, the investment level is not large, the current level of journalism human resources can do it within reach. Local press with a variety of topics, potential public files, can completely calculate Podcast to become a strategic information channel to retain and attract the public, not only completing political tasks but also increasing revenue for the editorial office”.

Journalist Dong Manh Hung's advice to those who are new to podcasting is: "Let's get started, and when we do, we will gain experience. And with podcasting, creativity is limitless based on the achievements of the digital age, so there will be many interesting things waiting for you. A note that is not redundant when doing podcasting is to think about the public, think from the public's perspective, change the approach so that the journalistic product not only reaches where it needs to go but also widely spreads good messages in society."

Basically, Podcast is a social network that distributes audio programs to computers and mobile devices over the Internet; Podcast is “a series of digital audio files that users can download, subscribe to or listen to”. The main pillars of Podcast are shaped by knowledge (story, authenticity); entertainment and empathetic connection of the host and the important role of sound and voice. The advantages of the Podcast genre when compared to traditional radio are quickly affirmed. Podcast has characteristics such as: periodicity, personalization, diverse and rich content, going deep into human life, and most importantly, closeness and intimacy, helping listeners to interact and share their views.

Pham Hai Nguyen

Source: https://baocamau.vn/podcast-cach-tiep-can-cong-chung-bao-chi-moi-a39424.html