Cherubs explore the world of podcasts

BY ELISE BUTLER

Katie Prentiss has wanted to be a broadcaster since she was 5 years old. But she had never podcasted before.

On a whim, Prentiss joined a group of journalism cherubs at the National High School Institute that created podcasts. Cherubs learned to record interviews, do voiceovers and turn audio into a 2-minute podcast.

And she discovered a skill that will help her in the future.

“Podcasting is definitely a big part of journalism,” Prentiss, of Tampa Bay, Fla., said.

Prentiss believes she will continue podcasting after she leaves the program.

Instructor Elia Powers, who helped the students develop podcasts for the program Web site and taught a podcasting workshop, said he believes reporters should learn to podcast because it adds to “value” to their resumes and will help them in the future.


Katie Prentiss (right) interviews Natalie Stumpf for a podcast.

“It’s one other tool,” he said. “It gives you another way to hear your sources.”

Although she had no prior experience, Prentiss said podcasting was not too hard to learn. She said she actually thought it was easier than print journalism.

“I think it’s important to learn all sorts of new things because you never know,” she said.

While similar skills are needed for podcasting and print, like finding the story, conducting an interview and finding the news, there are differences. One is quotes. In print, Powers said, reporters talk more than their sources and keep their own words short and simple. Podcasts generally have more quotes and let the sources speak for themselves, Powers said.

Podcasting also ensures that sources cannot be misquoted because reporters use “pure, unfiltered sound bytes,” Powers said.

Prentiss said the assurance of accuracy was something she realized quickly when producing podcasts.

“There’s less of a question [of authenticity],” she said. “It’s more credible.”

The idea of listening to the sound bytes from interviews and being able to tell a story verbally appealed to Prentiss.

“It’s like a puzzle, piecing together all the quotes,” she said. “Now I have the confidence that I can do [audio]. It was definitely a good experience.”