Quick Hits: The coronavirus edition, part three

Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:

Matt Turck, chief revenue officer for Megaphone, spoke with Digiday, offering a bullish outlook on podcast advertising revenue. Turck said that Megaphone expected to see a “softer” second quarter due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, but is still expecting to reach its revenue forecast for 2020. “It doesn’t mean things can’t go sideways,” he said, “But we don’t expect them to.” A little optimism is always welcome!

Steve Pratt of Pacific Content took to Medium to offer some advice and answers to the frequently asked questions about podcasting in the pandemic. Click through for his suggestions about making podcasts as a stand-in for live events and whether it makes sense to publish normal shows while the coronavirus headlines are impossible to ignore.

Evo Terra, a longtime podcaster and self-proclaimed “professional contrarian” is not looking kindly on the broadcasters who are now working from home. Outside of the grumbling about quarantined broadcasters trying to manipulate their audiences, he does raise questions about authenticity in podcasts. It’s a goal that just about every media format aspires to, which makes it all the more ironic that some outlets try to achieve it through calculated means. The real takeaway seems to be that production values, whether they’re high or low, aren’t a sign of honesty, reliability, or trustworthiness. Just make the best show you can.

Anna Washenko