Trust in Pod: Listener Trust of News Content Heard on Different Genre Podcasts

Abstract

There are several news podcast programs for listeners to choose from, but other genre podcasts (e.g., comedy, true crime, history) also include news in their content. This study measures listener trust in news content aired in different genres. The findings indicate most listeners trust content heard on news podcasts, which may relate to an increase in available news programs, as well as an overall increase in podcast listenership. The research also shows some listeners trust news heard on non-news podcasts. This may relate to interest in alternate sources for news and the storytelling formats used in the programs. When examining the trust of news content based on genre, news heard on comedy, news, and history podcasts are more likely to be trusted by listeners. The majority of gratifications associated with listening to podcasts based on the various genres are similar, with minimal differences seen among certain genres. Discussion of AI and its influence on trust in news heard on podcasts is also addressed.