Hosts of the Odd Lots podcast reveal they've killed entire episodes that didn't meet their quality bar. They argue journalists should be more selective, focusing only on releasing their best work—a sentiment even the guests on the killed episodes appreciated.
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Despite the lucrative potential, best-selling author Morgan Housel intentionally avoids a subscription model. He believes the pressure to consistently produce content for paying subscribers ("feed the ducks because they're quacking") creates a dangerous dynamic, forcing creators to publish even when they lack inspiration, which harms the work's quality.
Forcing a team to meet a weekly post quota often leads to mediocre content. A better strategy is to ditch fixed schedules and instead post extensively—even ten times—about a single viral moment when it occurs. This approach prioritizes quality and impact over arbitrary volume.
According to podcaster David Senra, the era of casual, part-time podcasting is ending. A new wave of creators are approaching it like entrepreneurs, focusing intensely on product quality, iteration, and making it their primary venture. This professionalization is raising the competitive bar, making it difficult for hobbyists to succeed.
A planned 10-part series was immediately cancelled after the first two posts severely underperformed. This demonstrates the discipline to act decisively on early performance data and avoid the sunk cost fallacy, saving weeks of wasted effort on a campaign the audience has already rejected.
A core principle for maintaining journalistic integrity is to treat access as a liability ("poison") rather than an asset. By operating without a dependency on privileged information from powerful sources, a journalist can maintain an independent viewpoint. Paradoxically, this very independence often makes them more attractive to sources, thus increasing access over the long term.
Businesses limit content output fearing audience fatigue, but the real issue is often low-quality content or production bottlenecks. An audience's appetite for high-value content is nearly insatiable; focus on improving quality and output, not reducing frequency.
Former journalist Natalie Brunell reveals her investigative stories were sometimes killed to avoid upsetting influential people. This highlights a systemic bias that protects incumbents at the expense of public transparency, reinforcing the need for decentralized information sources.
The pressure to constantly record new episodes stunts content quality and distribution planning. A crucial tactic is to batch-record and bank at least half a season's worth of episodes before the show goes public. This creates a buffer that prevents burnout and allows for more thoughtful execution.
The "99% Invisible" podcast subjects every script to a live table read where the entire staff provides hundreds of written comments in a shared document. This process is intensely rigorous but culturally gentle, focusing on elevating the story without personal criticism.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, trading favorable coverage for access to powerful sources is no longer the best way to get a story. In the modern media landscape with diverse information channels, reporters find more impactful and truthful stories by maintaining independence and refusing to play the access game.
