Not Live, Maybe Local, Definitely Late-Breaking

Podcasts, by nature, aren't breaking news vehicles. They can't be -- they're not live. But when breaking news happens, shows on which news is discussed have to be on top of it.

That came up when the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs was released. Suddenly, whatever episodes news-oriented podcasts had in the can were obsolete. Listeners didn't care about whatever your show was about; they wanted to hear about the court, abortion rights, and what was happening right at that moment.

The upshot is that if you're a current events podcast, you have to be nimble. You need to be ready to do an "emergency episode" without notice. Fortunately, podcasting allows this; you can just go to your recorder, open the mic, and go. And in that case, you're forgiven for not paying too much attention to production values, as long as the sound quality's good. Time is of the essence, not editing. You can't be egregiously shoddy, but if the content's timely and strong, just get it out there and worry about bumper music at another time.

Your listeners want to know what you think. Don't keep them waiting.

Got a question about podcasting? Go ahead, send it to psimon@allaccess.com or tweet it at @pmsimon. That's what I'm here for.