Can Podcasts Keep The Trust They've Earned?

Trust in podcasting extends beyond the host and the listener to a larger, overall trust in the idea of podcasting. Interestingly, podcasting enjoys a greater level of trust than other forms of media. But for how long?  Photo byhttps://www.pexels.com/@charlotte-may?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels ( Charlotte May) fromhttps://www.pexels.com/photo/young-cheerful-woman-listening-to-music-using-smartphone-5965926/?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels ( Pexels) In The States, https://eshap.substack.com/p/fourth-estate-sale?utm_source=url (trust in traditional broadcast media is at or near an all-time low), a trend that has been happening since the 1970s.  And we're all keenly aware that, left to their own devices, the social media platforms we use every single day would serve their own interests far more often than they'd serve ours. Weirdly, podcasting doesn't follow those trends. Listeners report rather hard-to-believe trust scores for podcasts. A trust that's even extended to the ads played on podcasts. Why? Part because there's no algorithm deciding what podcast episodes someone should and shouldn't be exposed to. And because there aren't multinational media conglomerates vying for their share of a limited set of channels, frequencies, or shelf space on a newsstand.  But that's changing.  We're starting to see some of the same scenarios that predicated trust issues consumers have with other forms of media worming their way into podcasting. The rise of celebrity podcasters and other fast-growing personality-based podcasts are getting podcasts in the ears of 70% of the population who don't yet consume podcasts regularly. That's great! But is it good for the perception of trust in podcasting?  Take a look at any of the https://podnews.net/uploads/edison-podcast-ranker-publisher-q4.png (podcast) https://tritondigitalv3.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/PodcastReports/Dec%202021%20USA%20Ranker.pdf?utm_source=podnews.net&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=podnews.net:2022-02-18 (ranker) https://www.tritondigital.com/resources/podcast-reports (charts), and you'll find plenty of shows—incredibly popular shows—that you wouldn't consider all that worthy of your trust. Mainstream media is bringing the same biases and points of view that are staples of their broadcast content to their podcasts and networks.  Billions of dollars of investments in podcasting are consolidating voices, enabling more rapid production, and further siloing podcast content. But they're also getting podcasters, and people in the business of podcasting paid, which is also a Very Good Thing.  But I wonder about the cost to the trust podcasting has enjoyed thus far.  ----- Links https://eshap.substack.com/p/fourth-estate-sale?utm_source=url (Trust in traditional broadcast media is at or near an all-time low) https://www.edisonresearch.com/super-listeners-2021-from-edison-research-and-ad-results-media/ (People trust the ads and commercials they hear on podcasts) https://podcastpontifications.com/search?query=truth (Podcast Pontifications episodes on truth) http://analytics.podtrac.com/podcast-rankings (Podtrac top podcasts) https://www.tritondigital.com/resources/podcast-reports (Triton Digital podcast charts) https://www.podcastinsights.com/top-us-podcasts/ (Podcast Insights top podcasts)  http://evoterra.link/buzz (Over 100K active podcasters trust Buzzsprout) Got a podcasting service? https://podcastpontifications.com/about/sponsorship-information (Become a sponsor of Podcast Pontifications).

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