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MillimeterPodcasting: The Next Big Broadcast Phenomenon?
Oct 11, 2005 10:06 AM
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) New Media Council and The Emmy Awards Advanced Media Committee, in cooperation with the New School Department of Media Studies and Film and the Parsons Department of Design and Technology will present a discussion and demonstration of the latest innovations in podcasting on Tuesday, October 18th, from 7:00-9:00 pm at the Swayduck Auditorium, 65 Fifth Avenue, between 13th and 14th Streets.
The event, entitled ‘Podcasting: The Next Big Broadcast Phenomenon?” will include a panel discussion and networking session and will feature Jason McCabe Calacanis, chairman and co-founder of Weblogs, Inc.; Robert Spier, Manager of Online Station Services for National Public Radio (NPR); Jordan Lyall, founder of Podfly.com, and Peter Rojas, editor-in-chief of Engadget. Produced by PGA New Media Council New York co-chairmen Marc Scarpa and Jeff Dachis, the event will be moderated by Shelly Palmer, chairman of the Advanced Media Committee of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), New York.
‘Podcasting: The Next Big Broadcast Phenomenon?’ marks the first in a series of monthly events during 2005-2006 that the PGA, NATAS, and the New School will hold at the Swayduck Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Attendees should RSVP pga-ny@producersguild.org.
“The place-shifting of media content opens up tremendous opportunities for long-form and short-form producers, from feature producers to advertisers, and podcasting is yet another tool with which to explore a one-to-one relationship with a listener or viewer,” said Jeff Dachis, CEO/chairman of Studio Holdings (and former CEO/co-founder of Razorfish – NASDAQ: AQNT), a board member of the Producers Guild of America New Media Council, and Co-Chair of PGA NMC New York. “We expect to see a wide range of creative interests represented by this event, and it should create an interesting dialogue between presenters and audience. The podcast phenomenon has placed greater power in the hands of individuals on the Web, while opening up new avenues for major media outlets.”
Podcasting is a method of publishing files via the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed and receive new files automatically. It became popular in late 2004, intended largely for downloading audio files onto a portable audio player. However, listening to podcasts does not require a portable device and it is not traditional "broadcasting" to a mass audience at a fixed time.
“The Internet now enables, like never before, the syndication of contextual content to specific users who can take it with them wherever they go, and podcasting is a breakthrough in understanding how to target and deliver news and other programming to this global community,” said Marc Scarpa, NY chair of the PGA New Media Council.
Podcasting very much reflects the early days of Webcasting, in the mid-1990s, when entities were experimenting with new forms of communicating with audio and video over the Web,” continues Scarpa. “Now, the growing broadband audience, coupled with the proliferation of handheld devices – such as the iPod – for downloading information, has taken the personalized information revolution to its next logical level.”
Podcasting enables independent producers to create self-published, syndicated "radio shows", and gives broadcast radio programs a new distribution channel. Listeners may subscribe to feeds using "podcatching" software which periodically checks for and downloads new content. Some podcatching software is also able to synchronize (copy) podcasts to portable music players. Any digital audio player or computer with audio-playing software can play podcasts. The same technique can deliver video files, and by 2005 some aggregators could play video as well as audio.
“The paradigm shift from network to networked television is happening, and the ability to search for content – particularly user-generated content – on the Web is now reaching a tipping point where producers actively build in online promotions and extensions of content to increase awareness and distribution of original productions,” said Shelly Palmer, chairman of the Advanced Media Committee of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), New York. “The podcast phenomenon has created a greater dialogue around syndication of Web content, and how the mobile Internet enables a new kind of interaction between producers and consumers.”
The New Media Council of the Producers Guild of America represents the interests of professional producers using new technology to create and distribute entertainment. The PGA New Media Council is comprised of leaders in every aspect of emerging entertainment including visual & digital effects, DVD, internet, mobile, interactive television, console and PC gaming. The goal of the organization is to enable all storytellers with efficient technologies that empower them to create new and deeper relationships with entertainment consumers.
For producers of new media, The PGA New Media Council offers education, access and tools to build careers and create quality entertainment. For the producers of film and television, the PGA New Media Council is a resource to gain insight, find talent and drive revenue by leveraging their intellectual property. Visit the PGA website at www.producersguild.org for further information.
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