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In Defense of Journalism: An Appeal to the Podcast Industry
An Appeal to the Podcast Industry
Most Americans don’t even know what the “Fourth Estate” means anymore. The idea that journalism should serve as a check on power has been slowly eroding over decades. Traditional media is highly mistrusted from all sides. Reporters who still show up to a newsroom are spread too thin to effectively investigate their stories, and local news has become irrelevant where it still exists. The comments section of social media has become a rich source for American zeitgeist.
In fact, the most influential voices shaping public understanding are podcasters, YouTubers, and social media celebrities with loyal audiences and zero obligation to inform responsibly. This shift has been a death by a thousand cuts.
We can trace it back to 1987, when the FCC repealed the Fairness Doctrine, a policy that once required broadcasters to air opposing views on public issues. It wasn’t perfect, but it stood for something we’ve since lost: the belief that media had a civic duty. That if you held a microphone, you had a responsibility to use it in service of the public.
As that expectation withered away, it made room for partisan talk radio, cable news as entertainment, and eventually, an algorithm-driven culture of salacious clickbait and misinformation built to provoke, and then cement our polarized views.
Cut to 2025, public media is officially losing federal funding for real this time. Journalism is now so underfunded it’s barely recognized as a professional field, much less the hallmark of a healthy, functioning democracy. Independent journalists are living on Top Raman and Red Bull while influencers receive their Red Bull for free along with a fat sponsorship deal. The public has lost the ability to sniff-test the difference between a strong and convincing, but heavily one-sided opinion, and a fairly laid out fact-based story. Or maybe the public has lost interest in the difference.
The hardest truth is we are tearing up systems that future generations will still be working to repair (if they get the chance). And one of the most powerful tools we have right now to slow or correct the damage is sitting in our ears: podcasting.
Podcasting is a $7 billion global industry enjoyed by more than half the U.S. population. It’s the most trusted medium in America*. More than traditional news. More than social media. And it’s personal: one voice, one listener, undivided attention on a recurring basis.
We’ve already seen podcasting shape real-world outcomes. Serial’s first season, a gateway podcast for many, helped spark renewed legal action in the Adnan Syed case. In the Dark brought national attention to Curtis Flowers’ wrongful conviction and played a part in his exoneration. Pod Save America has mobilized voters, raised millions for candidates, and turned passive listeners into active participants.
But here inside the podcast industry, most of the conversation still revolves around ad tech, branded content, and video strategy. Those things do matter – we have to prove value to be taken seriously. We are fortunate that entertainers and influencers have built huge audiences here, they’ve brought in real money and credibility. That’s not a bad thing. They’ve teed up this momentous opportunity.
And, I believe we have a bigger calling right now. If we allow podcasting to follow the same arc as cable news drifting toward sweaty bravado, cozy, warmly lit studios, and not a lot else, we’ll squander one of the last, best chances we have to build something better.
If that model becomes the model, and we keep chasing attention for dollars, we’ll end up in the same ditch traditional media did. And history will have taught us nothing. We need to treat podcasting like the civic infrastructure it’s already becoming before we miss the biggest play of all: podcasting as infrastructure for a functioning democracy.
This moment is historic and all it’s ours. Ours to lose.
The Call: This Industry Has Work to Do
Looking at where this industry has come with clear eyes, it’s more than marketing, or entertainment. It’s civic infrastructure with the strength to hold power to account.
Every day, podcasts are shaping how people see the world. What they believe. Who they trust. How they vote. That comes with real consequences and real responsibility.
This is our moment as an industry and we can’t afford not to take it.
I assert we have some meaningful work ahead:
Podcast players — Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and others — need to recognize the power they hold. These companies are no longer just distributors. They are the new front page. What they choose to promote, categorize, and surface shapes public understanding. If entertainment, influence, and journalism are all living in the same feed, then players should help audiences understand the difference. Categorize intentionally. Elevate transparency. Give civic-minded content a chance to compete.
When we’re pitching funders or sponsors, stop leading with downloads. Lead with purpose. We need to show them the power their money holds — to inform, to activate, to build trust. We need to stop treating podcast funding like a media buy and start treating it like what it is: an investment in public impact. If we want different outcomes, we need to make a different case.
Agencies and production teams need to push their clients to think bigger. When making a podcast for a brand, a nonprofit, or a public institution make it matter. It will attract the right audiences and build stronger affinity, so it’s not just doing good, it’s also doing well.
Independent creators and journalists need real support. That means funding, distribution, legal protection, and audience growth strategies that aren’t financially out of reach. They’re doing some of the most important work in this medium, and they’re doing it on a shoestring, and at real risk to their safety.
We've made great strides in recent years with strong research on who listens and how they listen thanks to groups like Sounds Profitable, Signal Hill, and Edison Research. What we need more of is research that tracks how podcasts influence civic understanding, voter behavior, and public trust in journalism. To legitimize and sustain our position as a pillar of democratic infrastructure, we’ll need to standardize what we’re measuring and how we report it.
And all of us — anyone working inside this industry — need to protect the trust we’ve earned. Because once it’s gone, we don’t get it back.