iTunes Top Podcasts
I saw at Podcasting News that the iTunes Podcast Directory has a list of its Top Podcasts of 2007, and congratulations to Jesse at The Sound Of Young America for placing two shows on their list. WFW didn’t get a mention, nor did I expect it to, but those that made it lead to an interesting discussion about the current state of podcasting.
As I’ve said, I was attracted to the medium of podcasting because of its independence – anybody with a broadband connection and (hopefully) something to say could be connected with like-minded people around the world for a relatively small price. But even a cursory glance at the page on iTunes shows that the majority of their favorite podcasts are produced either by the mainstream media (CNN, New York Times, ESPN), public radio outlets (NPR, PRI, independent stations), or are outlets of major sites (Boing Boing, The Onion).
While I gladly listen to Fresh Air, This American Life, and several others on that list, how can small, independently produced shows like those on the Podcasts section of my blogroll get heard by a wider audience if all you see are things like Car Talk and Best Week Ever? I’m not looking to compete with those bigger names, but maybe a little more recognition for the independent, home-based podcaster from Apple would have been preferred.
After all, isn’t Apple supposed to be about all that anyway? Isn’t that what Justin Long keeps telling John Hodgman in those funny little commercials?
