Listen in on Life
As podcasts grow in popularity, stories are shared on an inspiring scale. Georgia Beard reveals how our podcast connects communities by exploring the lives of everyday people and well-known neighbours.
As the growth of on-demand streaming services increases, people want to consume content in their own time – and on their own terms.
No longer prepared to sit through mind-numbing and often irrelevant ads that interrupt viewing or watching pleasure, the media landscape is changing and Podcasts are redefining what we listen to, how and when.
But exactly what is a ‘podcast’?
Put simply, it’s pre-recorded audio where hosts, and often guests, take part in lively, controversial and often hilarious discussions.
A landscape where any subject, no matter how niché, can find a home and build an engaged audience. You can download and listen to what you want, when you want and how you want.
Each recording is known as a podcast episode and is typically hosted by one or more people who lead a conversation, share stories, or report the news.
Podcasts are here to stay with people recommending podcasts to each other just like they do with books, movies, TV series and more. Listeners form a strong connection with the content they listen to and the number of genres are growing – from true crime to self-help; comedy to drama; sport to religion; game shows (yes) to news; politics to pop culture – there really is something for everyone!
And its popularity is growing! Each year, more Australians are turning off the radio and tuning in to these online, on-demand conversations.
Infinite Dial Australia surveyed the popularity of podcasts last year, finding that 91% of Australians were aware of podcasts; and that 37% of Australians over the age of 12 listen to podcasts every month, compared to 25% in 2020.
A report from Edison Research found that we’re listening to podcasts more than ever with a staggering 54% year-on-year growth and 59% of people were listening to podcasts in their car.
Results from an Acast Sounds Smart Report took a deep dive into the Australian podcast landscape to discover that 88% of people actively reduce distractions before they start listening to a podcast and 93% of people listen to podcasts on their own. Talk about an engaged audience!
It makes sense. When I’m listening to a podcast, I might not be in the same country, let alone the same room, but I still feel like part of the conversation.
Here at IN Noosa Magazine, we started a podcast as an extension of our aim to connect the community through storytelling and to be more than a magazine. Our podcast is called Everyone Has A Story: Conversations from the Sunshine Coast and Noosa and we unearth the stories behind the lives of those who call this region home.
Guests chat with podcaster and radio presenter John Caruso, and a life more interesting than fiction is revealed.
With over 30 years of experience in the broadcast industry, including as the Regional Content Manager and Drive Presenter for ABC Sunshine Coast; the breakfast host at SeaFM; and on radio stations including TripleM Brisbane and FoxFM Melbourne; John knows the craft of producing good content for your listening pleasure!
He’s interviewed more than 100 fascinating locals, from politicians to Holocaust survivors; artists to musicians; farmers to chefs, surfers, local business owners and possibly, the person next door. Everyone has a story to tell, and we provide that platform for them to share.
With 26,000 downloads and more than 20 new downloads per day, Everyone Has A Story: Conversations from the Sunshine Coast and Noosa is growing and being heard not only by locals but worldwide!
Our most recent podcasts include history and insights into the Noosa Festival of Surfing from this year’s event organiser Josh Allen; discovering what chef Josh Smallwood is up to after leaving Rickys; how Dr Ian Norton, one of the world’s leading experts on pandemic responses is based here in Noosa – and how he is helping local businesses; and insights into the property market from Buyer’s Agent Kirstie Klein-Hunter.
You can also explore other interviews such as John’s most popular chat with Formula One Driver Mark Webber.
Connect with your community in a whole new way! Everyone Has A Story: Conversations from the Sunshine Coast and Noosa is free from our website and available on all podcasting platforms, including Apple and Google Podcasts and Spotify.
