Perception oftentimes does not represent reality. For instance people who were taking refuge in Germany in the past two years have had a great share of representation in the media, but their collective experience of fleeing a country and migrating to a safe place became their dominant marker. The diversity of the group and, even more so their individuality was lost as they were commonly lumped into the “refugee stream”. Even though, new media creates opportunities for voices to express themselves, they mostly do not break through into the mainstream, and if they do, they mostly function as the carrier of a framed message.
In the transatlantic communication, we face similar challenges. The majority of people experience the other, German as well as US-American, society through a certain lens that excludes voices. News reports focus on current events that are deemed important by the media agencies. Adding to the inherent exclusive structure and the financial pressure of news media, minorities as well as working class people in the US and Europe are greatly underrepresented in journalism. In most cases, we do not get to hear common people’s experiences, but a representation thereof.
As we have witnessed in the last decade or so, individual accounts are more relevant than ever. People have learned to express themselves on social media, Twitter is more direct and quicker than any conventional news outlet, people in similar struggles can find transnational collaborators online, and organized transnational participation in the political process is on the horizon.
So, how can common people get in touch with other common people’s views in order to see shared experiences: good ones as in policies or communal activisms that help progress in society, or bad ones as in policies or market mechanisms that hurt communities. Shared ideas help to develop a sense of we are all in the same boat and we can make a difference if we work together.
For people to experience the perspective of a person first hand, podcasts can be an effective medium. Podcasts have reached 20% of US Americans in 2016, and are growing in popularity in Germany as well, making this medium quite attractive to reach audiences looking for authentic information. Two forms of podcast can be an intriguing new form of transatlantic exchange. In interviews a certain topic can be explored with a person that either has personal or professional experience with the subject matter. As a good way to create understanding, the person’s biography can be explored, which makes the provided information interesting, authentic, and easier to understand. The alternative is a discussion across the pond – today’s technology makes it possible to confer and record the session almost seamlessly. In both cases, people of interest are persons that are mostly neglected by traditional news media, but can provide an inside perspective on a certain issue, as well as people that have had a transatlantic experience or background.
The establishment of an online transatlantic podcast network that provides a space for discussion, exchange of ideas, and networking around the topics presented in the podcasts can be an effort to grow the transatlantic community and diversify its agenda. Podcasts can offer insights to create more understanding for the experiences that inform a political and social belief system. Within this undertaking lays the opportunity to mobilize a base, first online then offline, in order to find support for stronger transatlantic ties through transnationally shared experiences of individuals as well as communities.
Sources:
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/07/minorities-in-journalism/399461/
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/aug/04/journalism-diversity-newspapers
http://www.businessinsider.de/podcasts-are-becoming-more-popular-among-listeners-and-advertisers-2016-6?r=US&IR=T
https://www.marktforschung.de/nachrichten/marktforschung/podcasts-werden-immer-beliebter/
https://www.joeran.de/podcast-boom
Gregor,
what a brilliant idea! I don’t know if you know or have ever listened to “This American Life” on NPR (I think they might be available online?), but that is totally what we could use as a foundation. TAL usually features 2-3 stories around a common theme. They are very different stories from very different people and very different parts of the US, but they highlight common threads in the lives of all Americans. How brilliant it would be to have the same thing for Germany & the US. I agree that it would do an excellent job of connecting different stories. Only question to consider is the language barrier I suppose. Make it bilingual? Or available in both languages but dub the original interviews? Regardless of this project, that is a really, really cool idea. I’ll write to you once I figure out WordPress – super excited!
Hey Sophie, thank you for your input. I’ve just subsribed to “This American Life,” and started listening to their latest show. I agree that focusing on one topic and hearing diverse perspectives is compelling. There still are a lot of things to figure out to make this format work, but I’m positive that people would like to hear stories from “normal” people. I, for example, love to read the short stories of HONY. The access to stories of everyday people, in our case related to the transatlantic experience, is quite limited, since the majority’s perspective of people in the US as well as Germany of the respective societies is informed mostly by the news, but also movies and novels. Novels and podcasts are somewhat similar in that they let people speak for themselves. I also would love to talk/write more in depth about the concept of the Transatlantic Podcast.
Hi Gregor,
Podcasts would be a really interesting way to get common people’s voices heard on both sides of the Atlantic. What do you think would be the best way to rouse interest from the very people you are trying to have join the podcasts? I imagine they would be delighted to participate.
Hey Henry,
you have a point – and it is quite complex, especially when trying to get common people to voice their views. I figured tapping into accessible networks first – ties that are already established. Just taking the people that are involved with the transatlantic expedition, you’ll be able to find scores of people that hopefully are delighted to participate. I already have great leads to people of different communities with diverse backgrounds in the US and Germany. The hard part is to not neglect the “common” people that you never get to hear first hand, except for news-worthy cases, where the tragic event is the story and this person’s life is then defined by it.
The next step would be to make out the target audience – for people to get insights of other common people’s lives, there would have to be some sort of interpretation, since as Sophie rightly discerned, there is the language barrier. I thought that you could go traditional, and use the information in the podcast to also produce an article in both German and English.
Also, I think a podcast either in German or English would be a great material for German and English classes having the benefit of reaching students that have not yet had an actual transatlantic experience.
Hi Gregor,
I’d very much like to add to that. I agree that the steps proposed by you would be a good way around the ‘grand narrative’ we often encounter in mass media. How would you ensure that these podcasts are not ultimately driven by the rules of the market, too, though and start catering to the audiences’ cognitive maps and interests and the big topics? “Merkel saves the world” would probably still get significantly more clicks than “Camping on the rise”.
Hi Gregor, what a cool idea and you seem to be already well advanced in the planning of your project. As to the engagement of the target audience, I would like to share a more general observation: The Atlantic Expedition is a program that aims at intensifying the transatlantic dialogue. More than 100 applicants turned in papers on how to get closer to this goal. We were all given accounts in order to discuss the different uploaded articles. Yet, the latest facebook posts by the Atlantic Expedition received very little attention. Wouldn’t liking and reposting be an easy way to create some visibility and to get our respective fb friends involved? The point I am trying to make is, if we (as disseminator of information) are not even using social media to reach out how should some of the suggested new media measures end up being successful?
Hi Gregor, I very much enjoyed reading your piece and believe that podcasts are a great way to tell personal and local stories. One follow-up question: Would it still be professional journalists producing these podcasts? (From what I’ve heard from journalists in Germany: There is still a lot they can learn from colleagues in the US when it comes to this format.) Or would it be individuals telling their stories and uploading them? How would you go about including those audiences in the discussion that are usually not listening to podcasts? Looking forward to your thoughts!
Hey Charlotte,
thanks for raising these important questions. I think so to say curating the voices and producing a podcast would be more attractive for the listeners. This means that you would have to put in some journalistic work, especially when trying to arrange the voices around a common topic.
To reach new audiences, social media is the way to go. Even though, podcasts are growing in the US, there’s always new means to make another push for more listeners: This year, listeners were motivated to tag friends on facebook and show them their favorite podcasts and where to get them.
Hi Gregor! Podcasts are just wonderful. I love the idea. As Henry also pointed out, it is also a good opportunity to ask people for contributions and to increase a sense of involvement in transnational relations. It could also be presented as kind of a language learning support podcast? It obviously depends on the audience, but this could be quite fun! Cheers, Felicitas
Hey Felicitas,
this is a great idea to reach yet another audience! I was already thinking how this material could be used in language classes in school, but, of course, the digital approach makes even more sense. Maybe physical or analog language classes or even digital language classes could still be used as a multiplier of sorts by advertizing the podcast.
Hi Gregor,
What a wonderful idea! I could see this gaining a number of good sponsors, too. Do you see this podcast being produced by already well-known radio stations in both Germany (i.e Deutsche Welle) and the US (i.e NPR), or by more up-and-coming podcasters?
Hey Johanna,
you are making a great point! Even though I would love to see the podcast grow organically and have many people participate in the production, I see the problems of it. We are witnessing declining funding of good journalism and I do not want to propel this problem. Thus, we definitely need to address the matter of finance models that would work in a way that new people can come in and produce original content, but when everything pans out get paid for the work they put in. Maybe a collaboration would be beneficial for the process, maybe there are other ways to go. For the start, good content needs to be generated, and it is to be seen how audiences react to it.
Hey Georg,
Thank you, a lot, for your ideas and thoughts. I really like the medial approach you are creating through the usage of podcast. As you are stating, it can bring people together on two levels: personally and professionally. I liked, that the personal background (biography), of the person, that speaks about a certain topic, could be added. Thus, the given information get into a bigger frame, and have the potential, to touch listeners differently and deeper.
The creation of podcast could be a product of my recommended idea: the international tandem for learning and exchange. I see a lot of mutual potential within these two ideas. 🙂
Kind regards,
Diana
Hey Diana,
thanks for creating that link. I will read your piece, think about it, and will definitely get back to you 🙂
Best,
Gregor
Hello Gregor,
what a great idea! I have just recently been introduced to podcasts and especially enjoy their alternative focus on reporting, be it a topical or personal approach. Your call for “authentic information” reminded me of the podcast Intercept, which invites many different voices and also focuses on their biography. As Sophie pointed out in the comment above, I would be curious about the language of your proposed transatlantic podcast. You seem to be concerned with reaching and including “common people” so a podcast that is entirely in English seems ill-fitting here. A bi-lingual program, although definitely more elaborate and costly, offers great benefitsand encourages Americans to learn German, especially – as Lukas Hellemeier mentions in his article – since 14 percent of Eurpean-Americans are of German descent.
Do you see any special themes emerge? E.g. a series on “Refugees in Germany and America,” or “Transatlantic Popular Culture”? You see, I get excited, which means that your idea is quite outstanding 🙂
I really enjoyed reading your article and agree with everyone else that the idea is great, Gregor! I personally also really enjoy listening to American podcasts like “This American Life” or “Radiolab”. You explained that you would like to include people who are not typically involved in transatlantic relations as both “producers” and listeners of the podcasts. Do you think that there are other ways to promote the podcasts than social media? I am not sure if social media is the best way to reach that new audience you are aiming at. I am interested in hearing your thoughts!
Hello Gregor,
thanks a lot for this fresh idea. You said “To reach new audiences, social media is the way to go.” and I agree with you. I personally think the podcast should include a broad range of perspectives – the enthusiasts and the critics. I would like to know how you would approach critics, who might be reluctant to state their opinions in public? – Jonathan
Hi again,
I saw that you work in refugee integration as well and would like to propose something to add on your idea. Although Anti-Americanism is not openly articulated that much, I sometimes see traces of it bursting through in more personal conversations with those of my students I have built up an increased level of empathy with. These people, because of language/cultural and geographic barriers never have had a deeper discussion with an average American in their life and often judge them by America’s foreign policy. I think that social media platforms would be a better way for communication and discussion since its two-sided and responsive but that podcasts would be a very good way to spark the interest in many, raise awareness and prevent extremism and prejudices in these communities too.