Subject Expert Engagement KIIT School of Mass Communication Organizes Talk on “A Journey from Radio to Podcast”
KIIT School of Mass Communication organized a talk on “A Journey from Radio to Podcast” under its Subject Expert Engagement on 24th July, 2021. The talk was delivered by Dr. T Jaisakthivel, Assistant Professor at the Department of Journalism and Communication, University of Madras. He was previously a journalist, who started a Tamil podcast called Tamil Sirukathaigal as a means to teach his students a Radio Production course.
In her welcome note, Ms. Nitali Johari, a student of Master of Communication and Journalism and moderator of the event, briefly introduced the Subject Expert Engagement programme. Explaining basics about podcasts, Dr. T Jaisakthivel mentioned that his podcast aims to introduce his students to noted authors and their stories. He mentioned that podcasts are an amazing way to deliver stories, experience and knowledge to people. He said, the traditional radio has evolved with time and in the internet era it is the podcast that has a bright future in communication and the growth is obvious from its vast acceptance by the people.
Dr. T Jaisakthivel guided the audience on how to start a Podcast. He stated that the podcast can work for almost every industry and subject. Data suggests that people listen to them more than any other audio content. Nowadays 30% of the time is spent listening to Podcasts. Podcasts allow us to reach people where traditional text and visual content fail.
Dr. Jaisakthivel said, learning how to create podcasts can open up other avenues for students. “Podcasts are not like voice notes. Your narration should sound professional; you need to know what background sounds to use; how to culture one’s voice; and how to use certain expressions to justify the work of the author,” he explained, adding, “They don’t need big studios or facilities, a mobile phone is enough for them to run their channel.”
Dr. Jaisakthivel guided the students step by step on how to create a podcast. He mentioned about the podcast toolkit every podcaster must have – a microphone or even a mobile phone, a silent room, headphones for audio monitoring, software and apps like Anchor for recording and streaming, an audio mixer for mixing audios and sound when multiple audio sources are required. Dr. Jaisakthivel ran the audience through the steps of podcast creation in detail. He also stressed on the importance of having a website for the podcast. Dr. Jaisakthivel also explained about measuring and marketing a Podcast. Marketing is important since it is the driving tool for people to discover the podcast and thus become a success. He also suggested some e-books for Podcasts and audio files like News on Air, Radio public- The Podcast, Apple Podcast which will be useful for students.
The session had an overwhelming response from over 45 participants, who included students, teachers and various professionals who engaged in fruitful conversation with Dr. Jaisakthivel after his talk. Ms. Nitali concluded the event by proposing the vote of thanks. Dr. Bidu Bhusan Dash, Course Coordinator, KSMC expressed his sincere gratitude. The event was a success with active participation of faculty members and students of KSMC and other Universities.