Podnews: Your Reliable Source For News On Podcasting

 Every industry has a trusted source that transmits and interprets news. The movie industry has Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. The music industry has Rolling Stone, Mojo, Billboard and Pitchfork. TV still has TV Guide magazine. 

Podcasting has several key industry news publications -- Podcast Business Journal, Sounds Profitable, and Podcast News Daily. 

However, the podcast news source that is pre-eminent in the industry is Podnews.

First published in August 2018, Podnews has almost 32,000 readers worldwide. Subscribers receive a daily briefing in their inbox every weekday about podcasting and on-demand. Concise, to the point, and a truly global view, their daily email also includes podcast tech, podcast events and jobs.

 The daily news boasts an impressive average open-rate of around 43%, significantly above the industry average. Its website’s articles (daily newsletters and in-depth articles only) have been viewed 1,232,730 times over the past 30 days. Its privacy-aware website has achieved a carbon rating of A+, and in May 2024 was cleaner than 93% of webpages globally.

 Podnews has also a daily podcast -- Podnews Daily -- that reports the newsletter in audio form. It's short -- less than five minutes -- and reports on key news items such as Lemonada Media exploring a sale, and Dax Shepard of the Armchair Expert podcast signing with Wondery.

Last month, the podcast achieved 53,534 downloads last month.

Podnews is the brainchild of James Cridland, who has worked in audio since 1989 as an award-winning copywriter, radio presenter, and internet strategist.

Cridland launched the world’s first streaming radio smartphone app in March 2005, for the original Virgin Radio in London, launching daily podcasts earlier that year.

In 2007 he joined the BBC working on the BBC iPlayer for radio, achieving a dramatic increase in the service’s audio quality.

Part of the team that laid the foundations for the UK Radioplayer, he has since worked for a variety of businesses across the world, including Canada’s Vista Radio, receiver and silicon manufacturers Pure and Frontier Silicon, talkSPORT, the ABC, and a variety of media companies in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia; helping them focus on the benefits and challenges that new platforms bring to their business. He was an advisor to podcast host Captivate, which was acquired by Global in December 2021.

One of the organizers of Next Radio, the UK radio ideas conference, James has worked with the world’s largest radio conference, Radiodays Europe, since its inception. He’s also part of the programming team for Radiodays Asia and Podcast Day 24.

A founder of the hybrid radio technology association RadioDNS, he is an Associate Member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and was made an Honorary Life Member of the UK’s Student Radio Association.

Cridland, who readily admits that he is passionate about audio, has published an international radio trends newsletter since 2017.
Cridland is one of the most influential thought leaders in audio and podcasting specifically.

In April 2023, Podnews announced the acquisition of Podcast Business Journal, a well-respected newsletter from Streamline Publishing Inc.

“I’m delighted to welcome Podcast Business Journal into the Podnews family,” said Cridland at the time of the acquisition. “We’re pleased to continue to document the growth of the podcast industry, and maintain Podcast Business Journal’s role of independent coverage for serious podcasters.”

“As Podnews continues to grow, with our series of networking events called Podnews Live, the in-depth weekly podcast Podnews Weekly Review and other plans in the works, we see great benefit in an additional brand to focus on those in business,” Cridland added.

Born in the UK, Cridland lives in Brisbane, Australia with his wife and daughter.

For those who are not in the podcast industry but a loyal listener of multiple podcasts, Podnews and Podcast Business Journal can be valuable tools for you, offering updates on your favorite podcasts, providing news of new podcasts debuting, and guiding you through your best listening options, and keeping you tuned into your favorite podcasters.