35 media podcasts that should be on every journalist's radar

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Podcasts are accessible to people because they easily slot into the "news moments" which appear throughout your day, making them a great way to stay on top of a fast-paced industry like the media world.

They are a way to get your regular scoop of the latest media news and research, career advice and journalistic tips, or best practices that are working for other publishers.

Here, we have collated a list of our own personal favourites, and those from our community, to help you find a new regular fix. Fair warning: it is not exhaustive, so let us know if any other podcasts for journalists have you hooked - or if you have your own show that should be on this list - by tweeting us @journalismnews. We want to hear from you.

READ ALSO: How to produce a podcast from home

The essentials

1. Behind the Headlines

Presenters: John Crowley and Hannah Storm, Headlines Network

Focus: Mental health, online abuse, journalist wellbeing

Check out: Interviews with Clive Myrie, BBC war correspondent and an ever-present face in the Ukraine coverage; Marianna Spring, the BBC's specialist disinformation reporter; Gina Chua, the newly-appointed executive editor of Semafor and one of the most high-profile trans women in media

2. The Digiday Podcast

Presenters: Tim Peterson and Kayleigh Barber (formerly Brian Morrissey)

Focus: US media and publishing industry, commercial revenue strategies, digital strategies, modern newsrooms

Check out: Google on disabling third-party cookies, an interview with the former Vox editor-in-chief on her next non-profit venture, and the recent revival of its live podcasts

3. The Rebooting Podcast with Brian Morrissey

Presenter: Brian Morrissey (who first ran The Rebooting as a Substack newsletter)

Focus: Media business models, pivot to privacy, creator economy

Check out: The interview with Forbes COO Jessica Sibley and a deep dive into the future of work

4. Journo

Presenter: Nick Bryant, BBC correspondent (produced by Deadset Studios and published by the Judith Neilson Institute)

Focus: Journalist careers, censorship, war reporting, journalism standards

Check out: Reporting on climate change (with News Corp on the record about its u-turn on the subject) and the next frontier for political journalism

6. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism

Presenters: Federica Cherubini

Focus: Media research, social media platforms, news formats, young audiences, press freedom, diversity and inclusion, and much more

Check out: Its flagship Digital News Report podcast series, currently running

7. Coffee with a Journalist

Presenters: Beck Bamberger

Focus: Tech journalism, journalist careers, professional development

Check out: Interviews with guests from Alcynna Lloyd from Insider, Adrienne LaFrance from The Atlantic, or Anita Ramaswamy from TechCrunch

8. Media Voices

Presenters: Chris Sutcliffe, Esther Kezia Thorpe and Peter Houston

Focus: Media and publishing industry news, commercial revenue strategies, audience growth, podcasting tips

Check out: Episodes with the winners from its Publisher Podcast Awards (which the Media Voices team organise)

9. The Media Show

Presenter: Amol Rajan

Focus: UK news and media industry, regulation, journalism standards, legal battles

Check out: GB News one year on, another star presenter leaving the BBC, the future of Channel 4 amid privatisation, the high profile case of Carole Cadwallader vs Aron Banks and the interview with the 'godfather of sound' Ira Glass

10. Media Masters

Presenter: Paul Blanchard

Focus: Career advice, professional development, leadership, journalist careers

Check out: Interviews with Chris Kay, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, and Zillah Byng-Thorpe, CEO of Future plc

11. Editor's Inbox Podcast

Presenter: Stephen Lepitak

Focus: Career advice, professional development, leadership, journalist careers

Check out: Interviews with Tim Loxley, editor of Radio Times and Gary Jones, editor-in-chief of The Daily Express

12. Untold Stories with Osama Gaweesh

Presenter: Osama Gaweesh, editor-in-chief of Egypt Watch (and a former Journalism.co.uk apprentice via the Refugee Journalism Project)

Focus: Live and interactive podcasts, human rights, democracy, press freedom

Check out: Killing of Palestinian journalists referred to international criminal court

13. Freelancing for Journalists

Presenters: Emma Wilkinson and Lily Canter, both freelance journalists and authors of the Freelancing for Journalists book

Focus: Freelance journalism, skillsets, interviewing tips, journalist safety, funding

Check out: Evergreen episodes on getting started, finding case studies and experts, safety and security, and getting paid

14. The Data Journalism Podcast

Presenters: Alberto Cairo and Simon Rogers

Focus: Data journalism, tech and tools

Check out: A data journalist in Ukraine

15. Journalism.co.uk (us!)

Presenter: Jacob Granger

Focus: Media innovation, audience growth, digital strategy, revenue strategy, social media

Check out: Nadine White: A year-on for The Independent's race correspondent

Specialist subjects:

16. Media Insider: Brought to you by The Fix Media, an excellent source of media news from across the European media landscape with episodes on media innovation and digital strategy

17. The Kicker: 'encouraging excellence in journalism in the service of a free society' by Columbia Journalism Review

18. Better News: Brought to you by 'the broccoli of media-focused podcasts', It's All Journalism, this show is produced in partnership with the American Press Institute.

19. How To Fail with Elizabeth Day: Not journalism-specific, but useful pep talks and how to bounce back from failures

20. The Tip Off: behind the scenes of investigative journalism in the UK, hosted by journalist Maeve McClenaghan

21. On The Media with Brooke Gladstone: WNYC Studios looks at current news events from a journalist's perspective, aiming to dig into topics of concern to reporters

22. International Press Institute: Shows include Media Freedom Rapid Response In Focus, The Press Freedom Files, Today in Short

23. The Business of Content: 'The podcast about how publishers create, distribute, and monetise digital content' with Simon Owens

24. Almost Professional: smartphones, filmmaking, social media, apps and other techy goodness, with Blake Calhoun

Old but gold:

These are either discontinued or not publishing regularly, but are well worth diving back into or keeping tabs on:

25. We Are Black Journos: Elevating and inspiring stories from both established and aspiring black journalists

26. Interhacktives: Social media news from students on the Interactive Journalism MA course at City, University of London

27. Media Tribe: Stories from some of the world’s most critically acclaimed journalists, directors and media executives, brought to you by Shaunagh Connaire

28. The Mobile Storytelling Podcast: Sporadically publishes, but when it does, few better places to get the latest know-how in mobile journalism, from Wytse Vellinga and Bjorn Staschen

29. Geekout with Matt Navarra: Social media wizards Matt Navarra and Martin SFP Bryant talk to the big names and chew over the latest news in the ever-changing social media landscape

30. The Storyful Podcast: Issues around the journalism industry itself, while analysing news coverage in the 21st century

31. The BBC Academy Podcast: A beginner's guide to everything from craft skills to taking your next step in the broadcast journalism industry. Evergreen

32. The Knowhow: Three academics discuss the political and social issues in a post-truth era and the dilemmas news media face covering them

Ones to watch (not literally)

33. The Backstory with Andrew Neil

After a turbulent time launching GB News, Andrew Neil's next venture is with slow journalism startup Tortoise as the face and voice of its podcast The Backstop

34. Emily Maitlis and John Godel's new podcast

The veteran broadcast journalists, and the hosts of the critically-acclaimed US politics podcast, Americast, left the BBC back in February 2022 to join media group Global. The duo will host a podcast together for LBC and more details on that show are expected later this year. As part of the deal, Dino Sofos, the founder of audio production company Persephonica, also joined Global as the podcast's executive producer. Sofos was the former head of BBC News Podcasts and created Brexitcast, Newscast and Americast formats.

It has been hinted that the new show will be thinking hard about how younger audiences access news content, hoping to avoid being another politial news podcast 'rooted in Westminster'. Expect big plays around social media platforms and video.

35. BBC Brave New Media

Coming out soon, this podcast by the BBC will explore the challenges facing the media industry; disinformation, funding and audience engagement. These are all issues spelt out in the recent Reuters Digital News Report as the UK wrestles with low levels of trust and willingness to pay for news, as disinformation and polarisation in the media landscape rages on.

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