By Michele Barletta

Podcasts seem to be the new trend, both on campus and all over the country. The advancement in technology makes podcasts easily accessible to people through the use of their smartphones. They’re available in many different genres meaning there is a podcast for everyone.

Student Joel Mcilroy listens to a number of different podcasts and says it has become a part of his daily routine. He uses podcasts to gain knowledge about the industry he hopes to work in one day, as well as providing him with entertainment.

“I enjoy listening to sport related ones, a lot of podcasts in the fitness industry, because that is part of my major,” Mcilroy said.

Listening to podcasts isn’t the only thing going on on campus. Individuals have begun recording and posting their own podcasts as well.

Will Conerly, a graduate assistant for the athletics department and radio voice for QU, has been recording podcasts for three years now and says it is a great way to learn about other people’s perspectives and get an important conversation going.

“I enjoy getting new people to come on and be a guest on the podcast, just hearing what they have to say and how they view things can be interesting and eye-opening,” Conerly said.

Conerly began recording podcasts because he believes that they help a lot with communication skills and add value to the career he hopes to have in broadcasting. Other students have been a bit more hesitant when thinking about starting their own.

“I’ve thought about starting my own podcast for a while now,” Mcilroy said. “Sports and fitness is my passion so it would be something to do with that, but I just haven’t got round to doing it.”

According to Conerly, starting a podcast is a lot simpler than it seems. All it takes is a smartphone and someone to talk to.

“I delved into it a little bit, just started my own just talking to my friends on the phone,” Conerly said. “Then I got more serious about it, I invested in different equipment, different ways to make it sound better.”

What some students at QU don’t know, is that they don’t have to spend money on equipment to better the quality of their podcasts. QUTV has it’s own podcast studio on campus, available to students who would like to record one.

“I only found out recently that QU has a podcast studio, when I went up to see it at North Campus,” Mcilroy said.

You can get in touch with the Assistant Professor of Communications, Nora Baldner, to book the studio.

Many people don’t know how you’d make money off podcasts, but Conerly explains that it is quite simple.

“The number one way to make money on a podcast is from ads,” Conerly said. “You kind of make a deal, you make a partnership with them. You get the money, but you also are giving them a minute of your time.”