I started off by looking up my usual source of info- something on parenting. I found two podcasts: MommyCast: Sharing Family Memories and Dad Labs: Stroller Strides. I was surprised to find that I enjoyed the dads' version more than the mothers. The dads had a better frame for their topic, complete with an intro & outro that leads you into the story, whereas the moms jumped straight from music into talking about a topic and if I had been only listening to the audio I was completely lost. Also, the moms podcasts was all over the place jumping from area to area and I couldn't quite figure out what the core was except that they were advertising something, whereas the dads' topic of choice was easy to identify. At this point I was informed that the purpose of this assignment was to evaluate podcasts mainly on their audio, so I switched up the topic and looked at three completely different areas.
Sex Chat with Dr. Kat - I enjoyed this podcast because it was very informative. In the intro, Dr. Kat informs the listener exactly what is going on, how the show works, & etc. As for audio, this show is recorded live so it's virtually like listening to a pre-recorded radio show, allowing for grammar mess ups and funny breathing and all. Overall, I enjoyed it.
CNN Student News 10/11/10 - This podcast is really an example of the kind that you have to watch in order to be well-informed. The various soundbites are awkward and come in the middle of stories, which may confuse the listener. Also, at times the speaker's voice is over music or some other noise effect which at some points is distracting but at others (while watching) actually works in its favor. For example, the segment on North Korea had a lot of different background noises that might have been distracting to the audio listener but for an aesthetic sense the sound with the background imagery really gave a keen insight to the environment of the news story - working in its favor. I wasn't too impressed with this segment though.
NY Times's Times Cast 9/29/10- This podcast was easily my favorite. It was clear and concise, brief and to the point. The cast made good use of narration and soundbites, playing almost the exact way that voices & quotes read in a newspaper article. It was easy to watch but also easy to listen too as well. There was a clear female voice that served as the narrator from introduction to conclusion and throughout the stories, while secondary voices were introduced to fill out the individual stories' content, making them easy to follow. A+
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