Assessing the democratic potential of news podcasts in an era of journalistic shift

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News is an integral source of political understanding and is critical if citizens are to meaningfully engage in democracy (McNair, 2009). In an era of journalistic turbulence, amidst closures of newspapers (Cox, 2016), smaller newsrooms expected to cover more stories (Grieco, 2019), a rise in alternative information providers, accusations of fake news, and weakening distinctions between fact and opinion (Wahl-Jorgensen, 2017), audiences are losing trust in journalism (Newman et al., 2019). This is happening against the backdrop of what The Guardian described as a 'crisis of democracy', with falling voter turnouts, a rise in extremism and racism, and increasing polarisation (Moyo, 2018). Quality journalism is vital in combating these threats to our democracy. While traditional media is struggling, some new forms of journalism are growing in popularity, garnering both the favour of certain audiences and critical acclaim. One of these formats is the podcast (Newman and Gallo, 2019). This project will look at who is producing podcasts (and how), the defining features of such products, the journalistic principles of these productions, and the implications that news podcasts may have both for journalism and democracy.