By Chen Yin Ying
Steve Aherm, who is the CEO from RadioInfo, started his speech with a finalist announcement of Podcast Asia Awards 2024. There are 64 finalists selected from hundreds of entries. Meanwhile, the winner will be reviewed on 3rd September 2024 by 10 judges from Asia and globally, fluent in English, Chinese, Malay, Japanese and French as well as the open public voting.
As the winner of Podcast Asia Awards 2023, Steve said, “I listened to every podcast and it took me weeks, listening anytime including on flight.”
He emphasised, cultural podcasts are the most interesting category. For example, Chinese language podcasts exploring folk tales and village roots attract lots of listeners. Ageing podcasts discussed the challenges of elder care in modern China. Fictional podcasts mostly produced ghost stories with strong audio drama elements. Also, educational podcasts offered business insights and educational challenges. Overall, his key observation is the high production quality and strong engagement across various podcast genres.
K.Oanh Ha, who is Big Take Asia podcast host based in Hong Kong, highlighted the weekly production of compelling stories by newsrooms across Asia, tailored for diverse audiences. She expressed that while many reporters excel in their field, they may not be comfortable on camera or adapt to broadcasting.
To create engaging radio, she suggested using flashcards to guide conversations and ensuring the topic and expression are interesting yet not overwhelming. She shared insights on producing podcasts, emphasising the importance of structured audio, capturing authentic emotions, and using the right channels, like YouTube, to reach different audiences. For instance, podcasters have to determine the type of shows that make sense and fulfil the audiences’ values and interests.
