Narrative voice is a frequent site of experimentation in narrative journalism, and in podcasting this voice tends to be more prominent as the listener hears the narrator’s embodied voice. It can build a strong bond with the listener, which is important for independent producers as trust is not automatically afforded to them by association with a trusted media organization. This is particularly true for emerging producers, who also lack a professional reputation. This study examines the techniques used in five Australian independent podcasts to understand how they experiment with narrative voice as a podcast technique to build trust with the listener. It finds trust is built through narrative voice in four specific ways (1) first-person narration, (2) authenticity, (3) empathy and (4) emotional truth. This may allow for a greater variety of voices to be not only heard but trusted within podcasting, but also raises questions about misplaced trust.
COVID-19 showed the importance of trustworthy and accessible health information. News organisations increasingly introduced podcasting to keep their audiences informed. Podcasting's documented capacity for listener engagement makes it a pertinent medium to study another global public health threat – superbugs – through the lens of constructive journalism. Both constructive journalism and podcasting feature lived experiences of sources, in constructive journalism focused on empowering audiences to act. This practice-led research study is the first to explore how solutions-oriented journalism intersects with narrative podcasts. It demonstrates through the production of a podcast series about antimicrobial resistance (AMR), an affordance to tell complex and often scary health stories. It finds that podcasting can position individuals affected by AMR as sources of empowering information, rather than as victims. The study contributes new knowledge to constructive podcast journalism as an impactful approach in public health journalism, leveraging its potential to provide solutions to listeners and promote change.
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