Lets take a look at the vertical communities in podcasting which is no more evident that it is in religious circles. The following portals are all dedicated to podcast preaching:

Religious Podcasts
Godcast1000.com
iPassages
ChurchPodcasts
Hwy777

Hilary Duff, chart-topping recording artist, headlining concert performer, actress, designer, philanthropist and businesswoman, and Wizzard Media, today announced Hilary's enormously popular video podcasts will be distributed by Wizzard Media. Hilary's podcast can be found on Apple's iTunes and on Hilary's recently re-launched hilaryduff.com.

Singapore is reviewing the code that governs competition in the print and broadcast media markets to include new media.

First implemented in April 2003, the Code of Practice for Market Conduct in the Provision of Mass Media Services spells out the rights and obligations of "regulated persons" and entities that provide mass media services, and sets the ground rules for fair competition.

Singapore Looks at New Medium

Interesting podcasting statistics:

49% female, 51% male.
All ages. The survey found more listeners 55+ than in the 18-24 age group.
Well-educated. Twice as many podcast users have advanced degrees as others.
Well-to-do. Podcast users are twice as likely to have incomes over 100K and nearly twice as likely to have incomes between 75K and 100K.
Wired - spending more than 50% more time online.
More likely than others to own an HDTV and use a TiVo or other digital video recorder.
More than twice as likely to own an iPod or other portable media player.
More than twice as likely to own video gaming systems.
Twice as likely as others to use NetFlix or other DVD rental service.
36% more likely than others to have made online purchases.
Nearly 4 times as likely to have purchased songs or other digital audio online.

Podcasts are relatively inexpensive to create, as a result, and the quality in published podcasts is extremely diverse. Corporate podcasts can be very polished audio productions while hobbyist experimenting with podcasts may have dogs barking and children's screaming in the background.

After all it is the content that matters right? Well no, not exactly remember when black and white televisions could "kind of" tune into stations it was just a hazy effect. How many continued to watch the grainy or flipping screen. Rarely was the show so riveting did it hold the interest of the viewer. Unless of course the content was forbidden to young eyes (as in the playboy channel).

Tips to Make Your Podcast Standout

Podcasts started out as fun ways for ambitious garage DJs, independent musicians and talk show hosts, who had not ventured into radio broadcasting as a way to show their stuff and make a name for themselves. What started as a hobby for many, has turned into a lucrative profession for some.

Making Money for Podcasts

We have just updated the huge list of podcast directories that podcasters can submit to.

There is a niche in podcasting that, in my opinion, has not gotten enough attention. I’m talking about podcast novels, or podiobooks. These are just like audiobooks, except authors record them in podcast format, meaning they usually produce a new chapter every week published in an RSS feed. What has amazed me in the four months I’ve been listening to podcast novels is just the incredible quality of the content, which is, like any podcast, free.

podiobooks
website focussed on podiobooks

The video-sharing Web site announced Monday that it will hold the first YouTube Video Awards to recognize the best-user created videos of 2006.

The awards will be handed out in seven categories: most creative, most inspirational, best series, best comedy, musician of the year, best commentary and "most adorable video ever."

The nominees, picked by YouTube, are compiled in a gallery at www.youtube.com/YTAwards.

complete article

The surprise about podcasting isn't that millions are listening — the surprise is that millions are listening to some fairly arcane stuff.

from USA Today:

In the rapidly expanding parallel media universe of podcasting — downloadable audio (and sometimes video) shows posted on the Internet — this largely entertainment-dominated format has been embraced by the techno-chic. But now some previously obscure academics, educators and amateur enthusiasts — who once had only each other with whom to share their specialized passions — are becoming improbable podstars, complete with national media attention and swelling fan bases.