Podcasting

Podcasting is a method of audio programs via the Internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed of new files (usually MP3s). It became popular in late 2004, largely due to automatic downloading of audio onto portable players or personal computers.

Other uses

Podcasting's initial appeal was to allow individuals to distribute their own "radio shows," but the system is increasingly used for other reasons, including:

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• A way for people and organisations to avoid regulatory bodies, like the British Ofcom, that would not allow a programme to be broadcast in traditional media.
• A way for news organizations to distribute audio as an addition to their existing text (or mostly text) news products. For example, Wikinews began to podcast its News Briefs in 2005.
• Education. Musselburgh Grammar School, Scotland began podcasting foreign language audio revision and homework, possibly becoming the first school in Europe to launch a regular podcast {{ref|musselburgh}}. The online encyclopedia Wikipedia has begun podcasting encyclopedia articles.
• Politics. In Singapore, where most broadcast media are controlled by the government, opposition Singapore Democratic Party leader Chee Soon Juan uses podcasting to distribute his messages. In the U.S., both major political parties have podcasts; on Aug. 12, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) became the first U.S. senator to offer a regular podcast. This past summer, the House Republican Conference, under Chairman Deborah Pryce, began PodCasting all their press events.
• Religion. Podcasting (or in this context, Godcasting) has been used by many religious groups {{ref|podcasting_pulpit}}. Many churches produce podcasts of talks and sermons. Disciples with Microphones provides podcasts relating to the Catholic church {{ref|disciples}}.
• Unofficial audio tours of museums (musecast) {{ref|museums}}.
• Communication from space. On 7 August 2005. American astronaut Steve Robinson claimed the first podcast from space during the Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-114 - although since there was no subscription feed, but merely an audio file that required manual downloading, the term was loosely defined. (transcript & audio).
• Television Commentary. Battlestar Galactica writer and executive producer Ron Moore creates commentary podcasts for each new episode of Battlestar Galactica. Other television shows have since followed suit.
• Conference and meeting alerts. Podcasts can be packaged to alert attendees to agendas, hosted roundtables and daily feedback. See
• Advocacy. The 5,500 locked out staff (editors, journalists, technicians, hosts, etc.) of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation are podcasting news and other programming at www.cbcunplugged.com
• Youth Media. Podcasting has become a way for youth media organizations, such as Youth Radio http://www.youthradio.org, to bring youth perspectives to a wider audience.
• Newspapers. Newspapers use podcasts to brodcast audio content from print interviews and drive traffic to their websites. The San Franciso Chronicle is believed to be the first major daily newspaper to start podcasting using an external website (http://sfchroniclebiz.blogspot.com) in Feb 2005. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post was the first to use its own website and the first in Asia (http://podcasting.scmp.com), having launched on April 19, 2005.