THE PATH TO PRODUCING A TRUE PODCAST

Podcasts and radio programmes

A podcast differs from a radio programme in that it is made solely for posting online online and not on the radio.

Note: Recordings of radio programmes that are posted online after airing are often referred to as ‘podcasts’. These are not to be confused with true podcasts, which are not intended for broadcast on the air.

Features of a true podcast

Unlike radio programmes, true podcasts have no time limit and can cover a very large variety of topics (general interest or niche subjects). Producers therefore have more editorial freedom and can tailor their content to their desired audience. A podcast can have an unlimited number of episodes and be divided either thematically or chronologically into seasons.

Producers looking to build a following should consider the importance of a regular programming schedule and branding through images and sound – with emphasis on sound quality. In addition, since podcasts are published online, it is essential that you post it to as many platforms as possible and promote it online, especially on social media.

Choosing a theme

• The editorial meeting is the first step to choosing the theme of your podcast with the entire team
• You theme can be:
• Very simple, such as ‘Life at your local library’
• Broad but not necessarily easy to tackle, such as ‘What does it mean to be a teenager today?’
• More in-depth, such as ‘The FIFA World Cup’ or ‘Sexism’.
• Participants also need to decide on a podcast name.

You also need to decide on:

• Episode length (for example, 20 minutes)
• Everybody’s role assignments (presenter, reporter, specialist, etc.)
• The content of each programme segment (reports, debate, interview, etc.)
• The minute-by-minute breakdown, or ‘cue sheet’, of the episode

Types of podcast content: Your podcast can take the form of an interview, debate, report, or a combination of the three.

• Interview techniques:
• Participants should find an interviewee to contact based on the chosen topic.
• The interviewer leads the discussion. They should follow their prepared list of questions which in turn should follow a logical progression.
• This requires a great deal of research beforehand. The questions need to be specific.
• The interviewer should know how to ask follow-ups and when and if to stray from their prepared questions.
• Preparing a debate
• The aim of a debate is to talk about a particular topic that requires a variety of viewpoints because it is either complex or controversial.

The moderator has a special role:

• They lead the roundtable by asking specific questions about the topic and choosing who can speak. They need to make sure everyone’s speaking time is respected.

Some panellists will play the role of an expert:

• Each one should have a specific role (sociologist, parent of a student, etc.)
• The experts each prepare their arguments.
• Together, they narrow the topic down by discussing their ideas and helping the moderator come up with questions.
• At the end of this step, the panellists will have plotted out their debate and will be ready to record!
• Reports: A reporter goes to the scene in search of information. Reporters are therefore journalists that cover current events and convey them to listeners.

Before going to the scene, reporters must:

• Read up on the topic
• Get their equipment ready
• Choose contact persons
• Document which information they want to collect

Once they are on the scene, they must:

• Look for good interview subjects
• Be able to introduce themselves
• Ask the right questions, observe, take note.
• Record an interview, get the ‘feel’ of the scene, take sound recordings.

Recording off the air

Outdoor interviews and sound clips:

• Reporters should have a smartphone or, if possible, a microphone.
• Use the ‘record’ function (‘Rec’, ‘Stop’, and ‘Save’ buttons) to record questions and, subsequently, the interviewee’s answers, ensuring that the environment is not too noisy.
• When recording background noise, such as the sound of a crowd of protestors, it is enough to simply hold the smartphone or microphone toward the crowd.

Derushing

• After the files have been recorded, the reporter can derush them by extracting them off of their phone and sending them in an email to him- or herself email or saving them to a USB thumb drive.

Note: For security reasons, sound recordings should also be sent to the teacher before they are deleted from the smartphone or microphone.

• The files are then uploaded to a computer equipped with sound-editing software such as Audacity (www.audacity.sourceforge.net) or Netia.
• Tutorials are available on how to install the software and how to do sound editing (https://manual.audacityteam.org/index.html)
• It is up to you to teach your students some of the (really quite simple!) techniques to add and edit sound to create an audio report.

Recording the programme

Team members take turns sitting around a small table.

A smartphone with a microphone records in the centre of the table

To avoid noises from chairs and people coming in and out, and to maintain the programme’s rhythm, it is a good idea to record each segment of the programme separately.

For example:

• Opening by the host
• Editorial
• Presenting the topic
• Interviews
• Acknowledgements, closing

Note: If you are including a report, it should be added to the final edit.

Editing recordings and posting the podcast

• The instructor is responsible for piecing together the sound clips into an episode and adding jingles (musical extracts less than 5 seconds long) to make the segments flow together and fill gaps.
• Then, the podcast should be published on a free-to-use platform like Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/discover) along with a short description (topic, format, producers, originality).
• Afterwards, you can organise a group listening session.

Note: You can streamline the process by sticking to just one format (interview, debate, report).

FAKE NEWS FACTORY

Fake News Factory was created to raise students’ awareness of the risks of fake news and conspiracy theories in the media, especially in online media.

The programme was designed to allow young people to take part in a roleplay where some play conspiracy theorists and others play journalists. The intent is to drive home the main theoretical ideas around these issues.

The programme comprises the following steps:

Assigning everyone a role:

• Journalists and conspiracy theorists (in equal numbers)
• Host
• Expert
• Sound editor, who records the show and passes around the microphone
• Editor

Conspiracy theorists

• Using the structure and mechanisms of conspiracy theories mentioned in the lesson sheets for session 3 (‘Information and Disinformation’), the conspiracists must come up with their own conspiracy theory on the chosen topic (or use an existing one).
• Once the theory is in place, the conspiracists reveal it to the journalists.

Journalists

• The journalists then do thorough research in line with the fundamental rules of journalism listed in the lesson sheets for session 3: verification, comparison, corroboration.
• Afterwards, the journalists respond to and deconstruct the conspiracy theory point by point.

Expert

• Choose a student to play an expert specialising in conspiracy theories and fake news to give tips on how to identify false information.

Recording

• To record sound, you can use a microphone and save the file to a sound card or use a smartphone. Then use software for editing (Audacity or Netia).
• The episode should be plotted in advance with everyone’s lines having been written beforehand.

Plotting the episode

PART 1

• The episode begins with the host’s introduction: radio station name, programme name, start of programme
• The moderator then introduces the first guest (conspiracy theorist) and asks them to explain their theory and evidence
• The moderator then introduces the first journalist and their counterarguments and evidence.
• The moderator thanks the guests and moves on to part two

PART 2

The moderator hands over to an expert specialising in conspiracy theories and fake news who gives tips on how to identify false information, such as:

• Find out what kind of website is the information found on.
• Find out who the author is. A journalist? An expert on the topic? What is their motive?
• Check the publication date. Information can quickly become obsolete.
• Sources: Information must always be confirmed by 3 different sources before it is published.
• Remind students to always search, be curious, and question
• Remind students that critical thinking is the best weapon we all have against fake news and conspiracy theories.

The moderator thanks the expert, guests, and crew and ends the show.

PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES

This lesson sheet can be used as a basis for a radio programme/podcast creation activity with young people or to simulate a radio programme with conspiracy theorists and journalists.