Orson Welles' 1938 radio broadcast of "The War of the Worlds" led many listeners to believe in a real Martian invasion and helped establish his reputation. Podcasts are increasingly popular digital audio programs that can be downloaded on computers or mobile devices. While radio listenership has declined as more people own smartphones and access the internet, radio broadcasting remains very large-scale and podcasts have not replaced radio but provide more choice for listeners.

1. Orsons Welles’ The War of the
Worlds & The future of
podcasting
Shichen Liu, Perry

2. Orsons Welles
• Born in 1915
• An American actor, director,
writer, and producer
• Establishments: “Caesar”,
“The War of the Worlds”,
and “Citizen Kane”.

3. 1938 Broadcast “The War of the Worlds”

4. Orsons Welles and “The War of the
Worlds” impact- leading the public
panic to the reality.

5. Podcasts
Definition- ‘a digital audio file made available on the Internet
for downloading to a computer or mobile device, typically
available as a series, new instalments of which can be
received by subscribers automatically.’ (dictionary.com, 2017)
Is it possible that radio is coming
to an end and podcasts could
be taking over?

6. The decline in radio listeners
‘the percentage of Americans who don’t own a radio has
grown from 4% to 21%. Narrow it down to the 18-34 group,
and the non-ownership of a radio is 32%’ (Brad Hill, 2016)
“No one listens to it anymore. What will become of those radio
airwaves now that podcasts have taken over the world?”
(Seth Stevenson, 2014)
‘21% of Americans ages 12 and up have listened to a podcast in
the past month. That is up from 17% in 2015. Monthly
podcast listenership has increased 75% since 2013.’ (Baer J,
2016)

7. why the increase in Podcast
listeners?
• Arguably podcasts enable listeners to have a more
democratic choice over what they listen to rather than the
corporate control over radio.
• ‘Online you can fire up your favorite podcasts whenever you
please—instead of tuning in and hoping against hope that
something you’ll like is on.’ (Stevenson, 2014)
• ‘The rise of smartphones and the spread of Internet usage
has given podcasting a boost’ (Parab, 2015)

8. Book Riot - Podcast
book riot is a riot new media
property (under an umbrella company)-
http://bookriot.com/listen/shows/thepodcast/
• the show talks about recent book related news, new
releases, things authors have said etc.
• contains mid podcast advertisements
• professional quality on par with radio.
• They run a blog, multiple podcasts, and a yearly conference

9. The Readers - Podcast
http://bookbasedbanter.co.uk/thereaders/
• Much less intense and professional and has a
friendly and inviting vibe.
• also earns revenue from advertisement.

10. To conclude I think that Podcasts are coming into their own and are having
an impact on the listening side of media by giving audiences a wider range of
choices and availability. However the sheer scale of the radio industry isn’t
something that will be coming down any time soon.

11. to finish
‘When I ask him whether terrestrial broadcast outlets like
his can survive amid the podcast renaissance, he scoffs at
the question’s premise...“Podcasts only eat about a less
than 1 percent chunk of my business. Internet radio
streaming is 7 percent of the American radio industry, if
that. Things are beginning to fragment, make no mistake.
But we still made more money before lunch today than
Pandora has made in its entire history.” (Stevenson,
2014)

12. Bibliography
Campbell, W. (2017). The Halloween myth of the War of the Worlds panic - BBC News. [online] Available at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15470903 [Accessed 26 Mar. 2017].
Dictionary.com. (2017). the definition of podcast. [online] Available at:
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/podcast [Accessed 26 Mar. 2017].
Hill. B.H. (2016). The decline of radio(s) – RAIN News. [online] Available at: http://rainnews.com/the-decline-
of-radios/ [Accessed 26 Mar. 2017].
Stevenson, S. (2014). Podcasts Are Great, But Don’t Count AM/FM Radio Out Just Yet. [online] Slate
Magazine. Available at:
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/ten_years_in_your_ears/2014/12/the_future_of_terrestrial_radio_in
_the_age_of_podcasts.html [Accessed 26 Mar. 2017].
Baer, J. (2016). The 5 Key 2016 Podcast Statistics. [online] Convince and Convert: Social Media Consulting
and Content Marketing Consulting. Available at: http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-
measurement/the-5-key-2016-podcast-statistics/ [Accessed 26 Mar. 2017].
Parab, P. (2015). As Podcasts Go Mainstream, Will the Big Corporations Take Over?. [online] NDTV
Gadgets360.com. Available at: http://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/opinion/as-podcasts-go-mainstream-
will-the-big-corporations-take-over-765685 [Accessed 26 Mar. 2017].