Podcasting is imperfect.
And that is what makes it perfect.
By design, the medium was created to allow people of any age, creed, religion, and political affiliation to share their message with people anywhere on the planet… uncensored, and without interference.
Sometimes, the messages put forth incite anger. Other times, the audio quality itself drives audiophiles to dart for their liquor cabinet.
But at ALL times, creators put forth what they would like consumed.
And at all times, the listener retains the option to listen… or not.
The same of course applies to consuming content, in general.
When Podcast Magazine® put Jordan Belfort (The Wolf of Wall Street) on the cover and shared his story… people complained.
When we put Paris Hilton on the cover and shared her story… people complained.
We would run both again, without hesitation.
It’s impossible to please everyone, all the time. Which is why, when we chose not to feature Jay Shetty because of concerns over plagiarism, we didn’t concern ourselves with whether or not there would be backlash. We were only concerned with holding to OUR standards and level of integrity that is non-negotiable for US.
If more organizations created their own standards and identified their own non-negotiables, backlash—or lack thereof—would render itself irrelevant.
Podcast Magazine® staunchly believes in a podcaster’s right to express themselves freely, and we stand in support of protecting such rights. This is not to be construed as a political statement, nor a stance of left vs. right or ‘right’ vs. ‘wrong.’
From an editorial perspective, we may not agree with every word uttered by various podcasters on their respective shows, but we DO believe in keeping the medium uncensored and feel it is vital to avoid far-reaching regulation at all costs.
Our stance is simple:
We believe that all podcasters shall retain the right to share their viewpoints, regardless of whether or not such views align with our personal beliefs or values.
And we choose not to acknowledge or feed into inflammatory comments that do not further the GOOD of the medium.
Next month, our cover story will feature Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing. Ben hosts the seventh most listened to podcast in the world.* Jeremy is the co-CEO of The Daily Wire.
To some, his mere presence wreaks havoc. To millions of others, he is a trusted resource.
In a world that has seen its constituents move farther apart, perhaps the imperfections of the medium we love can become the tie that ultimately brings us together.
~Steve
* https://www.edisonresearch.com/top-50-most-listened-to-podcasts-in-the-u-s-q2-2022/
Edison Podcast Metrics Q2 2022
October 2022 Issue
