Image Courtesy of Mollye Miller Photography
Dylan D. Terezakis
Earlier this month, on March 2, 2023, CCBC Essex held a live podcast event, which was hosted by NPR Journalist Cheryl Thompson and the crew of The “Good School” Podcast.
Photo by Mollye Miller Photography
The “Good School” podcast is a local one that was created by CCBC students for the public to learn and discuss what actually makes a “good” school. Currently, they have 5 episodes on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts with an overall 5 star rating.
New episodes drop every Tuesday, where students and other high-profile guests discuss things such as the concept of a “good” college, national school rankings, student decisions, and more.
The “Good School” podcast should be recommended to all freshmen here at CCBC, as it gives a deeper dive into what makes a college considered a “good” school as well as a look behind the scenes of other elements related to the college experience. This one podcast is just a small illustration of the new form of media that has taken the world by storm.
Podcasts like "Good School” and those similar are important because they are informative and relatable to a wide variety of people.
In early 2004, Adam Curry & Dave Winer invented the idea of “podcasting.” The term later came to fruition one month later by a man named Ben Hammersley. It is almost certain that the men did not foresee the medium becoming as popular as it is nearly two decades later.
As something that started out as a very niche product on the iTunes store in 2005, they (podcasts) have come a long way and are even a part of our daily lives here in 2023.
There are a bunch of eye-opening statistics surrounding podcasts. The one that applies here is, 50% of Americans between 12 and 34 years old surveyed listened to a podcast in the last month.
Here at CCBC, roughly 62% of students are between 18 and 34 years old. It is safe to say that podcasts are impacting the lives of many students, and possibly even professors right here in our own classes.
Not only did CCBC have the live podcast event, but podcasting has actually been brought to the college as a field of study. There are many elements to podcasting that students can now learn through CCBC. Public speaking, writing, graphic design, audio and video editing are just some of the skills taught in some of the classes a student could take. Journalism itself also plays a key role in podcasting.
Professor Beth Baunoch has served a very important role in bringing podcasting to CCBC. She has been crucial in its popularity rising on campus and is the lead faculty member for “Good School.” She has also helped students start their own podcasts.
When asked about her goals with podcasts here at CCBC, Baunoch said, “first and foremost it’s to teach students how to create this style of media to bring more inclusivity to the podcast space.” She went on to add, “I am just not teaching students how to make them, but we are actually creating them, which is the best way to learn.”
That last statement is actually true. Learning by doing is the simple idea that we are capable of learning more about something when we perform the action. That has been noted as being more engaging, more personal, and more memorable for students.
Whether it is through radio or podcasts, people (especially students) love to be entertained. With how widely accessible podcasts have become, they should remain a popular form of media and become even more popular as more and more students and people get into that field.
Baunoch also said, “podcasts are here to stay. From the beginning of time, people have wanted to hear stories about the people around them.”
The idea of a live podcast is similar to that of a TED Talk. One of the first popular podcasts that was filmed live in front of an audience was “ImPulsive,” which has an average of 2 million listeners per show.
In a world where people prefer things such as news and hobbies to be easily accessible and often consumed “on-the-go,” podcasts continue to be on the rise. From 2022 to 2023, there is expected to be a 10% increase in podcast listeners.
Students can use them to learn, relax, or help with future endeavors. Noone knows where this medium will stand decades from now but clearly Podcasts continue to be the most popular emerging form of new media.
For more information on The “Good School” Podcast follow this link or find it wherever you get your podcasts. https://pod.link/1651090136
