Piaras Kelly PR - Public Relations in Ireland

They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself - Andy Warhol

Well Irish radio stations have finally realised that podcasts offer a good way of building an audience. <sarcasm>Well done guys</sarcasm> The video iPod has launched so the inevitable shift from audio to video content will soon begin - has Irish radio missed the boat slightly? At least RTE can profit from both trends because it can offer its television shows also.

There are two interesting articles about Irish media organisations offering audio and video content via the Internet this week. Today’s Sunday Business Post offers ‘Podcasting ready for take-off‘, which mentions which Irish radio stations are podcasting and mentions the fact that NewsTalk 106 finally started to offer podcasts to listeners on Friday. So it looks like I haven’t been ranting aimlessly over the last couple of months. No mention of the fact that near FM was the first Irish media organisation to start podcasting.

Obviously NewsTalk 106 is one of the best positioned stations for podcasting as the majority of their content is talk radio and wouldn’t be subject to the same restrictions as other stations. A fact that also applies to RTE programming.

The other article this week was in the Irish Times’ Ticket supplement entitled ‘Telly 2 Go‘ The article reports on the potential growth of video content on mobile phones and the video iPod. Popcorn, a TV3 entertainment review program, is already offering video content via 3G to the Irish public, with shows available from €2. The Darklight Digital festival takes place at the end of next week. There is a tutorial on producing content for mobiles on Thursday - a bargain at €40 - and a conference on Friday. I think I’ll try and get to the afternoon sessions on the Friday and might attend the afters in Four Dame Lane that night where the winner of the Nokia/Darklight Pocket movie challenge will be revealed.

My main gripe is that the Irish public is largely unfamiliar with podcasting or video blogging. By the time Irish radio stations are podcasting in full swing, the population will be clued up to the point where they are familiar with both mediums. Due to the prevalence of mobile phones, the emergence of 3G and the inevitable success of the video iPod, I think people are going to plump for video content ahead of podcasts.

Finally I think the fact that NewsTalk 106 is offering podcasts slipped completely under the radar of the majority of Irish bloggers just goes to show that our media hasn’t got a clue about how to promote themselves online. Start a conversation? I doubt if they even know that one is going on!

Technorati Tags: Ireland, NewsTalk 106, Piaras Kelly, Podcasting, PR, RTE, Sunday Business Post