5. Streaming news: how podcasts shape news conversations

Why Podcasts Matter for Journalism

Podcast listenership continues to rise, offering audiences a way to relax, learn, explore fan communities—and increasingly, stay informed. But what does it mean when podcasts become part of the journalistic ecosystem?

For media organisations, podcasts offer a new route to reach audiences in moments not typically captured by traditional formats: on commutes, while exercising, or doing daily tasks. They create space for deeper engagement, either with new listeners or with existing ones who want to connect more regularly. From the listener perspective, podcasts aren’t a source of breaking news. Instead, they excel in providing analysis and depth—occupying the same space once dominated by comment sections or long-form print features.

Another great pod. I wish you were in more. However you left out that both the WSJ & Goldman Sachs analysts said her financial policies would be better than his.

— Elisabeth D'Armiento (@thedeadlydonald) October 14, 2024

Podcast episodes tend to focus on the story behind the headline: exploring not just what happened, but why, how it fits into larger patterns, and what might come next. This is particularly true for long-running concerns like environmental degradation and systemic policy failures.

This analytical format has deep roots in podcasting itself. True crime—the genre that helped popularise podcasts—relies on drawing out a single narrative across many episodes. While the tone and pacing differ, news podcasts often take a similar approach, applying scrutiny over time rather than racing to be first.

Water Pollution as a Case Study

To see this in action, we explored how podcasts covered a topic that’s become increasingly politicised and urgent: polluted waterways.

Using Pulsar data, we tracked all English-language podcast episodes referencing water pollution between June and August 2024. The chart reveals a highly active landscape—especially for news-focused podcasts.

There’s a clear divide between publisher-owned titles (like those from the BBC, WSJ or Crooked Media) and independent podcasts. While both groups are present in similar numbers, publisher-backed shows carry significantly more visibility, a proprietary Pulsar metric reflecting content reach and impact.

We also mapped which publishers wrote about water pollution during the period, and whether those same publishers used their podcast channels to further amplify the topic. The result is a more complete picture of editorial strategy and content distribution.

One insight: left-leaning publishers such as The Guardian were especially active. Their in-depth coverage of water pollution—often linked to issues like environmental justice and corporate accountability—was supported by podcast content, enhancing both reach and resonance.

Meanwhile, despite their global reach, other outlets like The Washington Post and ABC Australia did not use their podcast arms to cover the issue during this window. In the US, the election likely diverted editorial attention. In Australia, domestic news fixated on viral outbreaks, while the nation's podcast attention turned abroad—to Paris and the Seine in the lead-up to the Olympics.

Measuring the Cultural Reach of Podcasts

These editorial choices—what gets podcasted, and what doesn’t—have a ripple effect. As podcasts grow into a primary source of analysis and commentary for many news consumers, they shape which topics gain traction and which fall away.

For comms professionals, that means podcast visibility isn’t just a media metric—it’s a signpost of cultural relevance. With Pulsar TRAC, brands and agencies can monitor how topics spread across podcasts, uncovering the gaps and opportunities in how stories are told and understood.

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