Media giants won’t be ambushed by invasion of the podcasters

The runaway popularity of blogging, which has turned everyday people into online news outlets, caught the media establishment off guard. The industry is trying not to make the same mistake with podcasting — which lets nearly anyone "broadcast" on the Internet.

Everyone from Disney to Newsweek to National Public Radio is now offering podcasts, and Apple Computer, Inc. last month made it a whole lot easier to find them and download them to iPods.

While profits remain elusive, there’s a bigger prize out there — the company that manages to become the go-to Web site for podcasts could gain enough leverage to strike favorable deals with proven content providers, and generate cash by charging for subscriptions and advertising.

Podcasts are recorded audio files, distributed via Internet download. They can be stored on computers or digital music players and played back whenever the listener chooses. Like bloggers, podcasters can sound off on whatever they please — from politics and religion to gladiolas and glass-blowing.

By GREG SANDOVAL
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Full Story: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/232981_podcasting18.html

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Publishing audio on Web simple and inexpensive

By Juliette Wallack
The Associated Press

My introduction to podcasting – the convergence of iPods, broadcasting and the time-shifting that TiVo popularized – came when Apple’s iTunes recently began making podcasts available for download.

I realized that nearly anybody can make and distribute a podcast. Got the moxie to upstage Howard Stern? Outrap Eminem? Scoop Nina Totenberg? All you really need to record and offer the public your own podcast is a computer, a microphone and the Internet. Digital voice recorders are optional. After all, it’s just an audio file.

You also should probably have something to say.

Full Story: http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_2866926