Datasheet

FIGURE 1.2

Dawn and Drew: honest sex and marriage

That’s not to say that Dawn and Drew are a success because they make money. Rather, they would

probably be doing this show anyway, because the stories, the bickering, the funny criticisms and

witticisms seem to flow out of these two. They exemplify the kind of honest passion that can be

captured by a microphone and find an audience.

Anyone can build a business on this technology, but it still takes talent and a kind of excitement

that makes producing a show thrilling every time the mic goes live. Another couple, Rob and Dana

Greenlee, created WebTalk Radio long before podcasting came along, migrating to the new distribu-

tion technology when it swept away streaming as the preferred way to get audio over the Internet.

Dana Greenlee says the problem is that after years, you start to think about producing as “time to

make doughnuts, oh well.” Indeed, Wired Magazine wrote about “podfading,” the tendency for

programs to disappear as producers lose interest. Keeping the excitement in a podcast is critical,

whether you’re going to deliver it to the world or to a small group.

But the Greenlees have enjoyed many rewards for their efforts, including executive jobs won by

Rob and Dana’s becoming the first podcaster for CBS Television, where she produced shows about

the Fall 2005 television shows offered by CBS. Their podcasts were far less expensive than the

radio program they’d previously produced, since they no longer had to pay for airtime on local

stations, and their audience was dramatically expanded both geographically and in size by the

move to downloadable audio.

Performers have shown the way to success, as well. Robby Gervais, star of the BBC’s The Office,

launched his podcast with friends Steve Merchant and (the astonishingly funny) Karl Pilkington

(see Figure 1.3). The first “season,” when it was hosted by the Guardian Unlimited, a London-

based online newspaper site, achieved a huge audience, as many as 250,000 per episode, more

than most cable channels can expect.

The show is funny and is clearly a performance, for no one can be quite as dense as Karl Pilkington

pretends to be. Gervais, an accomplished actor and comedian, took his experience in radio to pod-

casting, building a show on quick transitions between conversational segments, very like radio.

For these guys, who have worked together in media for years, the performance is natural. They’ve

practiced their enthusiasm as their work and their natural humor shines through.

Stars Being Born Everyday

05_043523 ch01.qxp 1/4/07 6:10 PM Page 33