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Ready to navigate the shifting landscape of cable news and reflect on the legends of our generation? In this week’s episode of the Billy Dees Podcast, titled “Cable News, Hackman, & More Media Stuff!”, we’re unpacking some thought-provoking discussions that you won’t want to miss!
The Reality of Cable News:
Billy Dees takes a deep dive into the recent changes in broadcasting and the delicate balance that comes with discussing controversial topics. Explore the economics behind the business of free speech and what it means for commentators like Joy Reid.
Remembering Legends:
Hear Billy’s heartfelt thoughts on the passing of icons like Gene Hackman. Why do their departures resonate with so many of us? It’s a conversation that touches on mortality and the personal connections we build through entertainment.
The State of Government & Customer Service:
Billy challenges conventional wisdom about business practices in the public sector. Why do some passionate individuals take up roles in government despite the allure of higher salaries in the private sector? Discover the motivations that drive these dedicated public servants.
Don’t miss out on this engaging discussion! Tune in now to elevate your understanding of the media landscape and reminisce about the celebrities that shaped our lives.
Stay curious, keep listening, and let’s dive into the world of media together!
Best,
The Billy Dees Podcast Team
P.S. Join us on social media and let us know your thoughts about the episode. We love hearing from you!
We are entering a new era regarding news and information gathering and processing.
As the 2024 election looms, it is increasingly harder to trust traditional sources of news which are increasingly backed by large conglomerates with political agendas. Moreover, as AI advances and becomes more accessible, what is real and what isn’t is much more difficult to distinguish.
Celebrity culture is crumbling. Although there are rich and famous people who are well intentioned, it is becoming more transparent to the masses that many influential people are either driving an agenda of their own or are simply just morons.
Over the past 10 years and certainly since 2020, podcasters and other independent creators on what may be termed “new media,” have become increasingly important in terms of how we gather information and process it.
The recent changes to X, formerly known as Twitter, such as much less suppressed posts and the ability to post long-form content, have opened a revamped and accessible platform to many voices who don’t necessarily have technical or media-based skills. I would argue even if you are not a fan of X, the newly opened up platform has pressured other social media platforms to alter their restrictive algorithms and manage the free flow of information better for everyone.
Regarding podcasts, according to Backlinko, there are over 464 million podcast listeners worldwide. The average listener spends about 7 hours per week on podcast apps. Episodes between 20 and 40 minutes seem to dominate the field. Listenership transcends gender, with women slightly edging out men 48% vs. 43%.
Established podcasts are poised to be a major factor in the American 2024 election. Podcasts can be listened to “on demand” to fit the listener’s schedule and do not require the audience’s complete attention. You can listen to a podcast while you are pretty much doing anything.
This may be why certain campaigns are getting their candidates on podcasts and new media. The RFKjr campaign has been very aggressive in this regard. This may explain why his numbers are weaker with older age groups who still get their information almost exclusively from legacy media such as cable news.
Trump has been on podcasts although what might have been his true participation level is hard to gauge since much of his time has been occupied with legal entanglements. Biden, who needs to reach younger demographics, has been seemingly hesitant to the idea of making the podcast rounds. Some of his critics would argue that he has tried to avoid engaging with any type of media.
My opinion and analysis of this is that currently, a mix of new and old media is necessary to help a campaign. Older demographics may not spend much time with new media, but they most certainly vote. That being the case, marketing and advertising efforts needs to include legacy media.
Also, as with traditional advertising such as radio, I am still a believer that it can be effective although the strategy has changed. Radio and TV are good for branding and getting your name out there.
Once the name recognition begins to kick in and people start doing searches, that is when the role of a solid plan for online content is of paramount importance. The digital media needs to be abundant and engaging and this need is easily filled with well produced podcasts.
I would only add that I would not limit myself to any type of media or news source. Listen to various opinions and analysis, don’t limit yourself to what fits your own disposition.
A great way to widen your information horizon is with a podcast. This is especially true of podcasts produced by independent creators. They are the ones who built the medium. It may be well worth your while to find some good ones.
Is a video a podcast? Should podcasters produce video? Is the emphasis on video damaging podcasting?
These are some of the questions I have noticed swirling about in media discussions. Technically, most of the veteran podcast purists out there point out that a podcast should be available on podcast networks driven via a RSS feed.
I am mostly is the camp that individual creators should be able to present their content in any form that they choose. However, I would concede that the term “podcast” is often over-used and people will slap the term on anything.
Our history with podcasting is with major podcasting platforms such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify, which are audio only. The verbiage has mostly always been that podcasts are essentially on-demand audio programs. We always put an emphasis on audio for everything we do. At the same time, video can also be a very functional tool regarding the distribution of podcasts to a wider audience.
As a side note, much of our programming has begun to cover current events and politics. Recently, we have started a channel for the Billy Dees Podcast on Rumble.
I have been a user of Twitter for a long time. I believe it is going on 14 years. This period covers the two full terms of Barack Obama, the term of Trump, and now the presidential cycle of President Biden.
As someone who, to one degree or another, has been involved with media since the mid-eighties, this period has been the most transformative, not only in terms of how we regard legacy media, but also how we get and process information. The striking rise and changing role of social media, especially in the pandemic laden last few years, has been a game changer.
Twitter has always been a great source for trending topics. In the early days, tweets were short. This had the platform termed as “micro blogging.” This combination of trending and short blasts of information made the platform fast and interesting. As my podcasting grew, it became my platform of choice.
However, for most of its history Twitter was not a huge financial success, especially when compared to the Facebook giant. Simultaneously, let’s say during the past five years, the old social media models began to change. Setting up the user base of a given platform to be targets of advertising was starting to become too familiar. Users had few rights to the service as “consumers” and popular creators were getting little recognition for playing a large role in the success of certain platforms.
If you miss the old Twitter, let me just say that its days were likely numbered had it stayed the old Twitter. Something had to change. TikTok was taking the world by storm. YouTube started “Shorts,” Instagram kicked off “Reels,” and so on. Facebook rebranded itself to Meta. Twitter was starting to lose its shine and was loaded with bots.
Enter Elon Musk. Twitter is now “X” and there is much talk of an “everything app.” I won’t go over “everything” but there are a few key changes that has me very hopeful for the future of the platform.
The following is from my perspective.
X is still very much real time regarding what may be termed as “breaking news.” There is a great deal of latency with other platforms. If your thing is showing pictures of your backyard barbecue this doesn’t matter and X is likely not the place for you. However, if you follow trending topics, X is a great place to be.
If you blog, podcast, or create video your audience is there. Authors, artists, musicians are all there in force. Do you have something you would like to raise awareness about? Influencers are there. I could go on.
Tweets, or posts as they are called now, can be much longer. For me, another big change is that long-form video content is also now possible on X. This is a very recent development.
Although I help others produce video and love the medium, for me and as a creator I have concentrated on podcast/radio styled content. Audio has been a passion of mine for my entire career.
When my podcast became successful enough for guests, especially authors and publishers, to start seeking me out, a common request was that they wanted to be seen in a professional forum and could share those links to their fans. YouTube was the obvious choice. I found the best software and developed techniques to facilitate good video interviews. However, I always made sure that audio quality remained a constant for the podcast platforms. That is where the listens happen for me after years of building a reputation. A quality shift can be a problem for multi-format creators.
My attitude was that YouTube was good supplement to the podcast. It is a search engine as well. This is all good, but it was never a strategy of mine to grow my YouTube channel.
In the past with Twitter, I would tweet out my episode YouTube link with all the appropriate hashtags and window dressing. Anyone interested in checking out the episode would have to click on the link and go to YouTube.
Enter Tucker Carlson on X. Not your cup of tea? No worries keep reading. This has nothing to do with politics. What is relevant is that his entire interviews are posted on X in video form and the views bury all the cable news channels combined. More media figures are now joining the club. The trending audience has always been native to X and now do not have to go off-platform to view video. Better yet, the video is in pre-roll as they are scrolling and is not just sitting there as a pasted link.
Live video is highlighted at the top of the X app. Live content in the form of Spaces is also a popular feature. Spaces are live audio sessions and presentations. Spaces started being a feature during the old Twitter and have now grown with the news-driven content on X. Live Spaces are also listed separately. This is clearly designed to use live content as a driver of the platform.
As a verified user of X, I began posting video interviews in long form and was very happy with the results. Recently, an associate of mine, ShamanIsis, suggested that we do a live video podcast on X. On Thursday Oct 12, 2023, we went live with the show and the results blew away any live-stream I have ever done on YouTube. The views and audience reach were in the thousands. Now, keep in mind I have a presence on X and am established as a podcaster, so these results aren’t necessarily to be expected starting out. None the less, these results spoke volumes about the platform.
Produced as we were streaming live on X (Twitter) Thursday Oct 12, 2023 at 7:00pm EST
I don’t know what your social media needs or expectations happen to be. However, if you are dismissing X because you feel it is just a place for people to post stupid stuff, or you have been dissuaded by negative things that you have been told, you are missing a possible opportunity to shape your brand and build a community. X has become more of a hybrid of media and social media.
I certainly would not describe the Billy Dees Podcast as a political show. However, we do showcase current events and commentary in addition to interviews with creatives.
The 2024 election will likely be some of the best theater we have had in years.
The best way to describe this episode would simply to be a preview of the political year to come. The discussion covers many of the leading candidates as well as the political climate in the country.
Is there a clear path or shape that the campaigns will have? At this time, probably not.
That alone is a concern.
This episode features Billy Dees and guest cohost Shaman Isis – It was produced September 13, 2023.
In my opinion, this conversation with Shaman Isis is as good as anything you will hear all week on digital or broadcast media.
Billy Dees and Shaman Isis
What we may refer to as an “absolute truth” is very illusive philosophically, scientifically, and in life.
However, have we lost our way in determining what an objective truth is in a practical manner?
Are “truths” that we don’t agree with increasingly becoming “fake news?” How do we know when news is news, or happens to be some version of a given truth that someone else wants us to believe?
Moreover, are we contributing to the problem?
Do we only pay attention to informational sources that reinforce what we already believe or have decided?
Teresa Strasser is an Emmy-winning writer for her work at Comedy Central and Emmy-nominated television host regarding her talents at TLC.
Teresa has been a contributor to the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, the Arizona Republic, The Jewish Journal, HuffPost, and The Today Show. Her first-person essays have garnered three Los Angeles Press Club Awards, including Columnist of the Year. Teresa has appeared on The View, CNN, Good Morning America, The Talk, and Dr. Phil.
Radio and podcast audiences know Teresa Strasser as Adam Carolla’s co-host.
Media Personality/Author Teresa Strasser
Her first memoir, “Exploiting My Baby: Because It’s Exploiting Me” was a Los Angeles Times bestseller and optioned by ABC.
On this episode Teresa is talking about her book, “Making It Home – Life Lessons from a Season of Little League.”
After the deaths of her brother and mother just months apart, Teresa explains how baseball helped with her grief and to renew a relationship with her father. Even for readers who are not necessarily big baseball fans, the book is an excellent manual for navigating their way through loss.
The book is available as of June 6, 2023 wherever you buy books.
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