Comments on:

San Francisco Chronicle Podcast Editor Marcus Chan talks about the number of listeners who subscribe to the newspaper's podcasts, what types of print stories make the best podcasts, how the Hearst-owned newspaper is considering making its podcasts profitable, and where he sees the daily print news publishing industry headed in the age of blogs and new media.

:34 Eric starts off interview; plays a snippet about future of newspapers as told by the San Francisco Chronicle’s podcast manager Marcus Chan; introduction to “On the Record…Online”; about Eric; past guests of OTRO, how to subscribe the feed; upcoming podcasts; suggestions for guests; posting a comment to www.ontherecordpodcast.com; visit the blog at www.spinfluencer.com; sending in audio comments; voting on PodcastAlley.com; request feedback on new logo.

6:15: Different categories of podcasts on the SF Chronicle web site; typically follow the sections of the paper; follows sports teams; Backstory podcasts—behind the scenes of stories in the paper; food podcasts; enhanced podcasts with images.

10:18: How are the podcasts being received; most popular ones are the Backstory podcasts; no studies done for different demos but “seem to be all over”; stats of podcasts; Streamload.com hosts the paper’s podcast files and offer daily tallies about how many times a file is downloaded and partially downloaded; Bono podcast; average 9 to 13 a day.

13:45: Where downloads originate from—local readers or elsewhere?; using Feedburner and iTunes to determine what channel people are getting the SF Chronicle podcasts from; job as podcast manager; started out as “evangelist” within and outside the newsroom; getting everyone on the same page; producing podcasts and educating people about podcasts at same time.

19:52: Has the late-1990s internet boom and subsequent bust make people pessimistic about podcasting? How are people at the newspaper and elsewhere responding?; Chan says its good for the paper to experiment and in doing so, hopes to get new readers or listeners.

22:59: What makes a great podcast?; Chan discusses different podcasts that did well; deciding what print stories get spun-off into a podcast; plans to make podcasts interactive and allow people to give feedback.

29:00: Monetizing the podcasts; conflicts of journalists with marketing and advertising; research from Pew and Intelliseek that says public is losing trust in news media; good work elicits trust; internet allows stricter enforcement.

36:54: Where are newspapers going to be in 10 years; new ways of media consumption; there will be no logging on or off to internet; Chan’s favorite podcasts; Make magazine; of the 12 years that Chan has been with SF Chronicle, “this is the most creative I’ve been allowed to be.”

42:07: Interview ends.

San Francisco Chronicle Podcast Editor Marcus Chan talks about the number of listeners who subscribe to the newspaper's podcasts, what types of print stories make the best podcasts, how the Hearst-owned newspaper is considering making its podcasts profitable, and where he sees the daily print news publishing industry headed in the age of blogs and new media.

SHOW NOTES

0:34 Eric starts off interview; plays a snippet about future of newspapers as told by the San Francisco Chronicle’s podcast manager Marcus Chan; introduction to “On the Record…Online”; about Eric; past guests of OTRO, how to subscribe the feed; upcoming podcasts; suggestions for guests; posting a comment to www.ontherecordpodcast.com; visit the blog at www.spinfluencer.com; sending in audio comments; voting on PodcastAlley.com; request feedback on new logo.

6:15: Different categories of podcasts on the SF Chronicle web site; typically follow the sections of the paper; follows sports teams; Backstory podcasts—behind the scenes of stories in the paper; food podcasts; enhanced podcasts with images.

10:18: How are the podcasts being received; most popular ones are the Backstory podcasts; no studies done for different demos but “seem to be all over”; stats of podcasts; Streamload.com hosts the paper’s podcast files and offer daily tallies about how many times a file is downloaded and partially downloaded; Bono podcast; average 9 to 13 a day.

13:45: Where downloads originate from—local  readers or elsewhere?; using Feedburner and iTunes to determine what channel people are getting the SF Chronicle podcasts from; job as podcast manager; started out as “evangelist” within and outside the newsroom; getting everyone on the same page; producing podcasts and educating people about podcasts at same time.

19:52: Has the late-1990s internet boom and subsequent bust make people pessimistic about podcasting? How are people at the newspaper and elsewhere responding?; Chan says its good for the paper to experiment and in doing so, hopes to get new readers or listeners.

22:59: What makes a great podcast?; Chan discusses different podcasts that did well; deciding what print stories get spun-off into a podcast; plans to make podcasts interactive and allow people to give feedback.

29:00: Monetizing the podcasts; conflicts of journalists with marketing and advertising; research from Pew and Intelliseek that says public is losing trust in news media; good work elicits trust; internet allows stricter enforcement.

36:54: Where are newspapers going to be in 10 years; new ways of media consumption; there will be no logging on or off to internet; Chan’s favorite podcasts; Make magazine; of the 12 years that Chan has been with SF Chronicle, “this is the most creative I’ve been allowed to be.”

42:07: Interview ends.

Photo by Steve Rhodes

SPECIAL EPISODE: CCC Podcasting Panel featuring Antony Bruno of Billboard Magazine, Bob Lefsetz of the Lefsetz Letter and attorney Kevin Koloff and attorney Josh Wattles go On the Record...Online on how the recording industry is dealing with the challenges posed by podcasters to the traditional business of music licensing.

NOTE: Apologies to the first 200 listeners who downloaded this episode yesterday. The file I uploaded included roughly five minutes of small talk prior to the start of the panel discussion, which has been subsequently removed.

00:30 Eric kicks off live from the California Copyright Commission monthly meeting; plays a snippet of panelists discussing copyright issues; introduction to “On the Record…Online”; describes the current show and introduces panelists Antony Bruno of Billboard and Bob Lefsetz of the Leftsez Letter; past guests of OTRO, how to subscribe the feed; upcoming podcasts; suggestions for guests; posting a comment to www.ontherecordpodcast.com; sending in audio comments

6:26 Eric mentions the difficulty recording the panel but did find the PMD 660 direct to compact flash digital recording device from Marantz helpful.

7:34 All about Podcasts: PodcastAlley.com; Podcast Expo; The CCC Board of Directors member Kevin Koloff is moderator for discussion; introduces Antony Bruno; Josh Wattles, former acting general counsel of Paramount Pictures and past president of LA Copyright Society; Bob Lefsetz

12:34: Bruno kicks off discussion about podcasts; Apple’s dominance in podcasting; who is podcasting; who is listening?

20:00: Making money off podcasting; Josh says “Apparently Not.”; Podshow.com example.

26:27: Music in podcasts; American Society of Composer, Authors and Publishers; placing songs in podcasts, what are the issues for copyrights; how to get clearance for songs; costs; steps for quoting songs in your podcasts; issues involving licensing music for podcasts.

39:16: Any business models for podcasts; finding podcasts; the threat to music publishers and record labels; music industry’s involvement in podcasts;

47:20: Questions from the audience: What is a feasible unitary licensing format for podcasting that wouldn’t put copyrighting business out of business; How are publishers being fairly compensated How do you accommodate or account for the international nature of podcasting; Fees to musicians, instrumentalists, engineers and others; anyone else in the world licensing;

68:39: Commission meeting wraps up.

This is an audio transcript of a panel on podcasting host by teh California Copyright Commission featuring:

Antony Bruno of Billboard MagazineBob Lefsetz of the Lefsetz LetterAttorney Kevin KoloffAttorney Josh Wattles

7:34 All about Podcasts: PodcastAlley.com; Podcast Expo; The CCC Board of Directors member Kevin Koloff is moderator for discussion; introduces Antony Bruno; Josh Wattles, former acting general counsel of Paramount Pictures and past president of LA Copyright Society; Bob Lefsetz

12:34: Bruno kicks off discussion about podcasts; Apple’s dominance in podcasting; who is podcasting; who is listening?

20:00: Making money off podcasting; Josh says “Apparently Not.”; Podshow.com example.

26:27: Music in podcasts; American Society of Composer, Authors and Publishers; placing songs in podcasts, what are the issues for copyrights; how to get clearance for songs; costs; steps for quoting songs in your podcasts; issues involving licensing music for podcasts.

39:16: Any business models for podcasts; finding podcasts; the threat to music publishers and record labels; music industry’s involvement in podcasts;

47:20: Questions from the audience: What is a feasible unitary licensing format for podcasting that wouldn’t put copyrighting business out of business; How are publishers being fairly compensated How do you accommodate or account for the international nature of podcasting; Fees to musicians, instrumentalists, engineers and others; anyone else in the world licensing;

68:39: Commission meeting wraps up.

Photo by Umberto on Unsplash

00:35 Eric introduces Rob Barrett, the Interactive General Manager for LATimes.com; plays a snippet about LA Times struggle to cover local and national news.

3:08: Eric describes “On the Record…Online”; for people who like in-depth one-on-one interviews; how to subscribe to the podcast at www.OntheRecordPodcast.com; upcoming podcasts are from the recent Portable Media and Podcast Expo as well as the California Copyright Conference; past interview guests; suggestions for potential guests.

8:11: LA Times wiki-torial experiment: Eric mentions he originally wanted to speak with Rob a month ago when the LA Times was launching their wiki-torial experiment—a wiki-based editorial about the war in Iraq where readers were invited to post their own comments and responses; wiki-torial was invaded by pornography; possible reasons why this happened such as a posting on www.Slashdot.com ; other tech changes coming to LA Times.com

13:34: Troubles of newspaper business: Knight Ridder is expressing interest in selling their newspaper chain and print circulations way down, forcing media companies to place more emphasis on their online news operations; How Rob is dealing with all that as Interactive GM.

16:36 Finding content at LATimes.com: Eric’s difficulty searching for a chili recipe that was printed in LA Times but unsearchable online; headlines for the website and for the paper; building database relationships; Rob says January is the time when he hopes to have a lot of problems addressed.

20:18: Editorial content online versus in print: Eric and Rob discuss news hierarchy for the paper’s website and print editions; how NY Times does it versus LA Times;Rob’s thoughts on doing this and keeping tone of newspaper; avoiding become a wire service; restructuring the news process; Rob mentions that senior print editors served as guest web editors for two weeks for various times and were able to see how important it was to get stories to the web and avoid getting scooped.

27:14: Catastrophes and disaster getting covered first by blogs: how does LATimes.com deal with that; regaining lost readership; redefining readership; covering local and national news.

31:25: Charlie Rose and Art Sulzberger: Rob responds to Sulzberger’s comments about keeping readers; what the LA Times needs to do; Rob says more local coverage will be instituted and new technology will be integrated; why Craigslist is successful even though information may not be completely accurate; readers trusting one another a la the Ebay Trusted Seller model; possibly employing non-journalists to contribute to the site as well as allowing readers to interact with each other.

38:10: New technologies at LATimes.com: LATimes.com has introduced podcasts but the biggest feature is The Envelope—the awards show central with blogs devoted to each major award show such as the Grammys, the Oscars, the Golden Globes, SAG awards, etc.

42:55: Podcasts: LATimes.com has introduced approximately seven podcasts; plans for more; Rob says they are focusing on the blogs first then podcasts will follow; finding talent for podcasts; how journalists are responding to these technology changes; where to subscribe to LA Times podcasts;

51:14: NY Times User Select: Mistake or Smart; how to generate revenue for the newspaper online such as charging for podcasts; content is prime focus; advertising opportunities.

54:17: Interview ends.

This was recorded when Rob was in charge of digital media at LA Times. He was also good enough to speak on a panel in a class I taught on digital media at UCLA.

SHOW NOTES

00:35 Eric introduces Rob Barrett, the Interactive General Manager for LATimes.com; plays a snippet about LA Times struggle to cover local and national news.

3:08: Eric describes “On the Record…Online”; for people who like in-depth one-on-one interviews; how to subscribe to the podcast at www.OntheRecordPodcast.com; upcoming podcasts are from the recent Portable Media and Podcast Expo as well as the California Copyright Conference; past interview guests; suggestions for potential guests.

8:11: LA Times wiki-torial experiment: Eric mentions he originally wanted to speak with Rob a month ago when the LA Times was launching their wiki-torial experiment—a wiki-based editorial about the war in Iraq where readers were invited to post their own comments and responses; wiki-torial was invaded by pornography; possible reasons why this happened such as a posting on www.Slashdot.com ; other tech changes coming to LA Times.com

13:34: Troubles of newspaper business: Knight Ridder is expressing interest in selling their newspaper chain and print circulations way down, forcing media companies to place more emphasis on their online news operations; How Rob is dealing with all that as Interactive GM.

16:36 Finding content at LATimes.com: Eric’s difficulty searching for a chili recipe that was printed in LA Times but unsearchable online; headlines for the website and for the paper; building database relationships; Rob says January is the time when he hopes to have a lot of problems addressed.

20:18: Editorial content online versus in print: Eric and Rob discuss news hierarchy for the paper’s website and print editions; how NY Times does it versus LA Times;Rob’s thoughts on doing this and keeping tone of newspaper; avoiding become a wire service; restructuring the news process; Rob mentions that senior print editors served as guest web editors for two weeks for various times and were able to see how important it was to get stories to the web and avoid getting scooped.

27:14: Catastrophes and disaster getting covered first by blogs: how does LATimes.com deal with that; regaining lost readership; redefining readership; covering local and national news.

31:25: Charlie Rose and Art Sulzberger: Rob responds to Sulzberger’s comments about keeping readers; what the LA Times needs to do; Rob says more local coverage will be instituted and new technology will be integrated; why Craigslist is successful even though information may not be completely accurate; readers trusting one another a la the Ebay Trusted Seller model; possibly employing non-journalists to contribute to the site as well as allowing readers to interact with each other.

38:10: New technologies at LATimes.com: LATimes.com  has introduced podcasts but the biggest feature is The Envelope—the awards show central with blogs devoted to each major award show such as the Grammys, the Oscars, the Golden Globes, SAG awards, etc.

42:55: Podcasts: LATimes.com has introduced approximately seven podcasts; plans for more; Rob says they are focusing on the blogs first then podcasts will follow; finding talent for podcasts; how journalists are responding to these technology changes; where to subscribe to LA Times podcasts;

51:14: NY Times User Select: Mistake or Smart; how to generate revenue for the newspaper online such as charging for podcasts; content is prime focus; advertising opportunities.

54:17: Interview ends.

Photo by CC BY 2.0, Link

Podcast brother and Portable Media Expo organizer Tim Bourquin, Michael Geohagen, Dan Klass of the Bitterest Pill, LA Podcasters founder Lance Anderson of Verge of the Fringe, Tres Jefes, Robbie Trechany and Paul Figgiani of The Point Podcast live from the trade show floor share their impression of the first U.S.-based conference dedicated solely to podcasting.

Podcast brother and Portable Media Expo organizer Tim Bourquin, Michael Geohagen, Dan Klass of the Bitterest Pill, LA Podcasters founder Lance Anderson of Verge of the Fringe, Tres Jefes, Robbie Trechany and Paul Figgiani of The Point Podcast live from the trade show floor share their impression of the first U.S.-based conference dedicated solely to podcasting.

00:32: Eric intros NY Times technology columnist David Pogue; plays a snippet of David’s thoughts about the amazing benefits of podcast; Eric explains “On the Record…Online,” who he is, what he does and what OTRO’s objective is.

5:44: All About Pogue: David discusses how he got into covering personal technology starting with music software; discusses how long he has been at the NY Times; the beginning of Pogue’s Posts as part of the NYT digital makeover in 2004; description of the blog—“all technology-related thoughts and observations”; objective of the blog; changing the headline-writing, wordplay or puns to be searchable better online; David reveals that he and other NYT writers don’t write the headlines.

9:42: The Editorial Process for Pogue’s Posts; the role of the web editor; deciding what goes into print column and what is better for the blog; deciding what to do a video about versus a blog post; buffering problems and other video problems; David announces Nov. 15th the entire NYT video operation will be turned over to professional video serving company, the Feed Room.

16:40: The Editorial Process for Pogue’s video posts; how David makes these videos—the unintentional comedy of it all.

20:20: David’s ultimate view of podcasting; sets the record straight on his video cast “making fun” of podcasting; how to listen to David’s video posts; what David thinks of the future of podcasting—“no drawbacks…no commercials, no paying”; hoping someone doesn’t monetize it and “mess it up”; repurposing audio and video programming and abandoning terrestrial broadcasts; videocasting; ABC/ Disney and Apple; grassroots opportunities for videocasting.

29:00: How David decides what makes news besides the obvious; “Is it cool?”; Eric wants to know what is “cool?”; design is important and most often results in an expensive price; who David looks to for information—Engadget, Gizmodo,MacWorld, PC World, Pitch letters from companies.

36:56: David responds to Gawker post about how the headline of his review of the new BlackBerry which appeared online as “David Pogue: Corporate Tool,Yes, but Bright and Handy.”

38:40: “On the Record…Online” concludes.

DISCLAIMER: Due to an unfortunate technical glitch and insufficient bandwidth, the following edition of “On the Record…Online” has a bit of a lag time in between questions and answers. Also, some questions sound as if they are being asked in the middle of answers. I apologize for the inconvenience. Thanks to David for letting us know.

Photo by Ed Schipul

DISCLAIMER: Due to an unfortunate technical glitch and insufficient bandwidth, the following edition of “On the Record…Online” has a bit of a lag time in between questions and answers. Also, some questions sound as if they are being asked in the middle of answers, making the interviewer and the interviewee sound out of synch, which is not how this interview was conducted. We apologize for the inconvenience and assure you this will not happen again in future podcasts. Thanks to David for letting us know about this and our deepest apologies go to him as well.

:32: Eric Introduces this newest podcast featuring NY Times technology columnist David Pogue; plays a snippet of David’s thoughts about the amazing benefits of podcast; Eric explains “On the Record…Online,” who he is, what he does and what OTRO’s objective is; upcoming guests include Rob Barrett of the LA Times; past guests; how to subscribe or download past OTRO podcasts; feedback or suggestions and how to post them to the blog or how to send audio files.

5:44: All About Pogue: David discusses how he got into covering personal technology starting with music software; discusses how long he has been at the NY Times; the beginning of Pogue’s Posts as part of the NYT digital makeover in 2004; description of the blog—“all technology-related thoughts and observations”; objective of the blog; changing the headline-writing, wordplay or puns to be searchable better online; David reveals that he and other NYT writers don’t write the headlines.

9:42: The Editorial Process for Pogue’s Posts; the role of the web editor; deciding what goes into print column and what is better for the blog; deciding what to do a video about versus a blog post; buffering problems and other video problems; David announces Nov. 15th the entire NYT video operation will be turned over to professional video serving company, the Feed Room.

16:40: The Editorial Process for Pogue’s video posts; how David makes these videos—the unintentional comedy of it all.

20:20: David’s ultimate view of podcasting; sets the record straight on his video cast “making fun” of podcasting; how to listen to David’s video posts; what David thinks of the future of podcasting—“no drawbacks…no commercials, no paying”; hoping someone doesn’t monetize it and “mess it up”; repurposing audio and video programming and abandoning terrestrial broadcasts; videocasting; ABC/ Disney and Apple; grassroots opportunities for videocasting.

29:00: How David decides what makes news besides the obvious; “Is it cool?”; Eric wants to know what is “cool?”; design is important and most often results in an expensive price; who David looks to for information—Engadget, Gizmodo,MacWorld, PC World, Pitch letters from companies.

36:56: David responds to Gawker post about how the headline of his review of the new BlackBerry which appeared online as “David Pogue: Corporate Tool,Yes, but Bright and Handy.”

38:40: “On the Record…Online” concludes.