How podcast storytelling is evolving

Dear Storyboard community, 

As Mary Schmich and I discussed last week, unlike newspaper columns, podcasts and digital media have few boundaries or constraints when it comes to space, length, and story structure. You can build a cliffhanger into each episode, or produce a series of standalone vignettes. But when it comes to budget and distribution, the constraints are clearer.

The post-“Serial” boom created an explosion of serialized narrative podcasts. This demand was also driven by the platform distributing these shows — Apple Podcasts, and later Spotify. As podcasting matured, there was pressure for more episodes, more downloads, and more growth, so we moved into a world where “always-on” chat shows became the trend. (If you had a member of the Kelce family involved, even better.) 

As algorithms and trends change, journalists and producers are looking for new ways to do impactful work: Some news organizations might consolidate their longform documentaries into an “umbrella feed” instead of offering standalone shows; others might turn their work into an audiobook. 

“ Where I come down is that there’s a lot you can do to be a storyteller regardless of the format,” Sound Judgment’s Elaine Appleton Grant told me. “You can use a lot of the same storytelling techniques — you can ‘narrative-ize’ a chat show.” While formats and platforms evolve, the core principles of reporting and storytelling remain the same.

Keep sharing your stories,