Podcasting in Public Discourse

Are the topics covered in (journalistic) content influenced by podcasts? So far, it seems that they have not had an impact on the ongoing debate. Is this really the case?

A post by Sarah Ghulam Haider Mughal and Felix Kleine

Tuesday, 6 July 2021

Although statistics show that Germany lags behind the rest of the world in terms of podcast consumption, podcasts remain one of the most widely consumed and most important forms of entertainment in this country. The number of listeners has been rising steadily for years, and the trend looks set to continue in the coming years. The medium is particularly popular amongst listeners aged 25 and under. This is hardly surprising when you consider the variety on offer on streaming platforms. From interviews with politicians and celebrities to true crime and fictional storytelling, right through to news and science podcasts, there is something for everyone, no matter how niche it may be.

It is even more surprising that one quickly gets the impression that this widely consumed media format is scarcely mentioned by other media, or at least not very often. That is why we took a closer look.

One of the best examples is the world’s most successful podcast, *The Joe Rogan Experience*.

Hosted by American comedian Joe Rogan, the podcast first aired in 2009 and is wildly popular amongst young, mostly White male listeners. The podcast is widely known for featuring controversial guests and heated debates. With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, Rogan reaches nearly four times as many people as prime-time cable presenters.

In 2020, Spotify struck an exclusive licensing deal worth over $100 million to host Rogan’s podcast on the platform. The Joe Rogan Experience, which launched on Spotify in September 2020, went on to become the global audio streaming platform’s most popular show of 2020 in just three months. Not only is Rogan’s podcast regarded as one of the most popular entertainment programmes globally, according to The New York Times, but Rogan and his podcast also emerged as an ‘unlikely political influencer’ during the 2020 US presidential elections. Some presidential candidates saw a measurable surge in popularity and fundraising after appearing on the podcast or being discussed by Rogan. The live stream of *The Joe Rogan Experience* on election night managed to attract over 10 million views. Rogan and his podcast generate significant media debate in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Globe and Mail, and even Deutsche Welle, due to the host’s controversial remarks, daring guest appearances and debates on social and political issues.

However, there are also examples of podcasts in the German-speaking world that have a significant impact on the media landscape. To this end, we have selected one of the most successful and well-known podcasts: NDR’s “Das Coronavirus-Update” with Prof. Dr Christian Drosten (Head of Virology, Charité Berlin) and Prof. Dr Sandra Ciesek (Head of the Institute for Medical Virology, University Hospital Frankfurt). The first episode was published on 26 February 2020. At that time, Prof. Dr Drosten was the only virologist interviewed by one of the two science editors. From 9 September 2020, Prof. Dr Ciesek joined the podcast, alternating with Prof. Dr Drosten from then on. The successes did not stop there. In addition to millions of views, there were also hundreds of thousands of subscribers on YouTube and four German awards. According to the NDR, the podcast reached over 100 million plays across all platforms in April 2021. All of these successes were largely down to the two virologists, who kept the public informed with their well-founded opinions on scientific findings and decisions made by the Federal Ministry of Health. Major German newspapers such as *Focus*, *Berliner Zeitung*, *Tagesspiegel* and *RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland* have quoted the virologists’ statements and used them as sources.

During the analysed period from 9 May to 8 June, more than 4,800 results were displayed on “Talkwalker” for this podcast. 24.3 per cent of these results came from newspapers. That amounts to over 1,100 newspaper articles covering this podcast in a single month. Similarly, the NDR podcast also became part of the public discourse on Twitter, with over 1,600 tweets (33.8%) in a single month. As can be seen from the graphs, the response is particularly high on the day following the release of a new episode. These results clearly indicate that podcasts are not only part of the public discourse but also serve as a source for journalists and newspapers.

Podcasts could prove to be influential in shaping opinions and fostering serious debates on social, political and scientific issues. However, upon closer examination, we concluded that people tend to prefer entertaining podcasts over educational ones and generally regard podcasts as a source of entertainment. Nevertheless, podcasts demonstrate a unique vibrancy and diversity of perspectives and have the potential to emerge as a medium where well-articulated debate is not only possible but also celebrated.

Sources:

NDR Ratgeber. (n.d.). Socialblade. Retrieved 1 June 2021, from https://socialblade.com/youtube/c/ndrchecker/monthly

NDR Ratgeber. (n.d.-b). YouTube. Retrieved 1 June 2021, from
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAKB9wGGRccBDrvbbbmgetw

The Coronavirus Update – Drosten podcast hits 100 million views. (30 April 2021). stuttgarter-nachrichten.de. https://www.stuttgarter-nachrichten.de/inhalt.the-coronavirus-update-drosten-podcast-hits-100-million-views.160315c1-d6d6-4221-8c5f-98dc63b0661d.html

talkwalker.com. (n.d.). The leading social media analytics and monitoring platform. Talkwalker. Retrieved 1 June 2021, from https://www.talkwalker.com/de

Podcasts. (2021). Statista. https://de.statista.com/statistik/studie/id/83409/dokument/podcasts/

Podcasting in selected markets worldwide. (2021). Statista. https://www.statista.com/study/74728/podcasting-worldwide/

Stecula, D. M. M. (3 May 2021). Joe Rogan told his millions of listeners not to take his anti-vaccine advice seriously. Is it too late? Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/03/joe-rogan-told-his-millions-listeners-not-take-his-anti-vaccine-advice-seriously-is-it-too-late/