CSUN On Point

The popularity of podcasts is on the rise. Whether listeners are looking for comedy, politics, sports, or crime stories, there are podcasts for all tastes, and companies are expanding the medium by focusing on different genres and markets.

“There is money to be made in making podcasts, so a lot more podcasts are being made, so you can serve smaller audiences,” said KCRW’s “Below the Ten” podcast host David Weinberg.

Edison Research reports about 73 million people of all ages listen to podcasts regularly. The number of podcast streams per person has risen from an average of five to seven each month — just in this past year. The on-demand nature of podcasts has contributed to their popularity, because it’s easier for listeners to fit podcasts into their schedules.

“A lot of [the popularity of podcasts] is that Netflix mentality: ‘I want to watch what I want to watch, when I want to watch it’,” said KFI News Anchor Aron Bender.

Podcasts from smaller companies outnumbered podcasts from bigger companies on Time’s top podcast list this year.  Some radio stations are also trying to tap into the popularity of podcasts.

“We take our shows and we podcast those shows,” Bender said, “and do so in such a way that people can consume them, so we take out most of the commercials, if not all the commercials.”

Podcasters are not limited by time constraints or FCC regulations the way live radio is. Podcasters have complete creative control over what they talk about, but making a living from podcasting is harder than in traditional radio.

“If all you want to do is make a podcast, then it’s going to be tough,” said Weinberg. “They say – I don’t know if this is still true – that you have to have 20,000 regular listeners to get advertisers to take your call, and even at that level you’re probably not going to be making enough.”

One common mistake new podcasters make is not being focussed and consistent. With more podcasts flooding the market, podcasters have to find a niche. If podcasters don’t post new episodes consistently, tailored to fit their audience, they can lose steam and stunt their growth.

“Try to drill down and focus,” Bender said, “so you can find that niche audience, and once you have them hooked, they’re going to start telling all their friends who are probably interested in that as well, and that’s how you grow a podcast.”

Podcasters have a farther reach than traditional radio. Podcasts can be heard worldwide on the internet, while radio shows can be heard only in the region they’re located.

“Even if it’s just one person listening,” Bender said, “there’s got to be chemistry with that person, and the microphone, and the listener. They’ve got to connect somehow…Even Seinfeld — he’ll say he’s got a show about nothing, but no it’s not about nothing. You’ve got this character-driven show… [The audience] likes to hate these characters, and the choices they’re making.”

Celebrities podcasters have the advantage of a built-in audience. For non-celebrity podcasters, figuring out how to stand out is important.

“The key difference between a good and a bad podcast is editing,” Weinberg said. “Through that refining process, is how you make things really good.”

The rising popularity of podcasting has made it more viable for some podcasters to make it their full-time job.

“Now, podcasting is a cool thing to do,” Weinberg said. “I think if someone said to me ‘you’re going to get this job where you get to fly all over the world to talk to people and get paid’, I would say ‘yeah! I’ll do it’.”

Moderator: Manuel Fuentes

Producer: Ahmad Akkaoui

Anchor: Sandy Chavez

Social Media Editor: Tammera Magaña

Reporters: Ahmad Akkaoui, Sandy Chavez, Manuel Fuentes, Tammera Magaña, Mario Saucedo and Natalia Vivino

A reliance on social media may have a prolonged effect on young people, in part by creating false role models, and in part by encouraging ‘FOMO’, or ‘Fear of Missing Out’. But many young children start using social media at a young age.

“One of the things I see parents doing is using screen time to keep their kids entertained while they’re doing something else,” said Dr. Joannie Busillo-Aguayo, CSUN associate professor of Educational Psychology and Counseling. “My oldest granddaughter is 16 years old and social media is her life. If she’s not able to do what her friends are doing, it affects her life.”

The Royal Society for Public Health and the Young Health Movement published a report ranking Instagram as the worst social media platform, in term of its impact on the mental health of young people. YouTube was ranked as the most positive social media platform. Snapchat was also ranked as among the most negative.

According to the Pew Research Center, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat are the most popular platforms among teens. Forty-five percent of teens said they’re online almost constantly.

The RSPH report recommends three possible solutions: the introduction of a pop-up heavy usage warning on social media, platforms identifying users with possible mental health problems based on their posts, and platforms alerting users when photos of people have been digitally manipulated.

Social media remains popular among young people, who say they want to do everything their peers are doing. A new iPhone update tells users how long they’ve been on their phones, and on social media specifically.

“The other day I went on my Instagram, and I look [at the update], and it says [I’ve] been on this for four hours,”  photographer Nathan Zielke said. “It was six o’clock in the morning.”

Zielke and recording artist JR Jones said they use social media to connect with people.

“I think that [social media] is literally my number one tool,” Jones said. “It has helped me build a really strong fan base, and it’s real people you can connect with, that don’t have to be in your local area. I’m reaching out to Canada, to Spain, to Portugal… it gives me a platform to share my music, and allow my music to go further than it would if I was just a local artist with no social media at all.”

Zielke has more than 29,000 followers on Instagram, and Jones has almost 34,000 followers. But Jones and Zielke, who have worked together, said they believe social media should be more about showing everyone who you really are, rather than showing people who you are trying to be. They said they’re aware of the potential for a negative impact.

“I feel like it gives me [the platform] to be a real model, instead of a role model,” Jones said. “I curse; I show the negatives; I show the down moments; I show me at my weakest moments… I think social media’s problem is it gives people an illusion that everything is great. You see the vacation… [and] you just see the picture of the sunset and the beach and stuff.”

“That’s the biggest fight with social media,” Zielke said. “I call it ‘fake flexing’. There are a lot of people out there who fake flex, and find ways to portray themselves as always being happy, always doing something…. they’ll be at home and [they’ll] post a vacation picture to make it look like they are somewhere else.”

Wrestler Sammy Guevara has about 15,000 Instagram followers. He said he does make choices about what to post.

“No one really wants to see the bad stuff,” Guevara said. “I get messages from people who get inspired from my videos. These videos aren’t solely about me. It’s a bigger picture thing… I wouldn’t call it fake energy or whatever, but some stuff is not meant for the camera and some stuff is.”

“I think it’s more important for [posts] to send a real message, and not a fake message,” Jones said. “I think it’s bad for kids to have this cookie cutter image of how life should be. You see this guy and he says all the right things, does all the right moves, with the most beautiful women, always happy… the minute the kid isn’t living [up to the fantasy], [he’ll think] ‘I’m a failure because I’m not like him’.”

Moderator: Tammera Magaña

Producers: Manuel Fuentes and Natalia Vivino

Anchor: Natalie Vivino

Social Media Editor: Mario Saucedo

Reporters: Ahmad Akkaoui, Sandy Chavez, Manuel Fuentes, Tammera Magaña, Mario Saucedo and Natalia Vivino

November’s midterm elections are fast approaching, and young voters are being urged to make their voices heard. Voter registration is at an all-time high, and 19 million people are registered to vote, but young voter turnout rates are still low.

The Pew Research Center has reported that less than a quarter of eligible millennials voted during the last midterm election. Older voting populations had ten-percent higher turnout rates.

As the baby boomer population decreases, the results for the upcoming election on November 6th will depend primarily upon young voters.

CSUN Political Science Professor Tyler Hughes said encouraging younger generations to vote should start at their homes and on campus.

“If you talk more politics at home, you’re more likely to be active,” he said. “We should at least be giving students the tools to participate, instead of just telling them to participate.”

CSUN Associated Students Chair of Community and Government Relations Tracy Johnson said a combination of institutional and psychological barriers may be discouraging young people to vote.

“The psychological barriers are efficacy;” he said, “believing that this matters, and that it’s going to make a difference; the voter’s education; the knowledge; the trust in government;  these things are barriers that can discourage young voters.”

Young people have been more likely to engage in activism in 2016, but the main concern is whether or not that activism will make it to the polls.

Hughes said the older someone gets, the more likely they are to vote.

Johnson said he dislikes blaming older generations for societal barriers.

“We need to all come together,” he said. “Three or four generations together will change things. One generation isn’t going to do it, in my opinion.”

The last day to register to vote in California is October 22nd, but anyone who misses that deadline can still register to vote conditionally.

Moderator: Ahmad Akkaoui

Executive Producer: Mario Saucedo

Associate Producer: Natalia Vivino

Anchor: Sandy Chavez

Social Media Editor: Tammera Magana

Reporters: Ahmad Akkaoui, Sandy Chavez, Manuel Fuentes, Tammera Magana, Mario Saucedo & Natalia Vivino

Producers: Mario Saucedo and Natalia Vivino

Anchor: Tammera Magana

Social Media Editor: Sandy Chavez

Reporters: Ahmad Akkaoui, Sandy Chavez, Manuel Fuentes, Tammera Magana, Mario Saucedo and Natalia Vivino