廣播已逆襲 你還在刷劇

Every day we are bombarded with images, videos, music and news. In this age of visual and aural hyper-stimulation, the medium of radio is making a phenomenal comeback.

每天大量的圖片，視頻，音樂和新聞撲面而來、令我們應接不暇。在這個視覺和聽覺高度刺激的時代，廣播也正以驚人之勢捲土重來。

“We’re at the dawn of a golden age of audio,”said US-based podcaster Alex Blumberg in an article in The Sydney Morning Herald. In the last month alone, 15 percent of US adults listened to a radio podcast. These statistics, released by Edison Research, reveal the successful evolution of traditional radio broadcasts to the present day’s digital podcast format. The term “podcast,” was coined in 2004, but the trend only started gaining mainstream popularity in recent years. Since the leap in consumer demand for smartphones and tablets, podcast subscription rates have only accelerated.

“我們已迎來了廣播的黃金時代，” 美國播主亞歷克斯•布隆伯格在《悉尼先驅晨報》上發表的一篇文章中如是寫道。僅上一個月，就有 15%的美國成人在收聽播客。愛迪生研究所發佈的這些數據表明，傳統廣播已成功轉型，變成了如今數字播客的形式。“播客”一詞早在2004年就已出現，但直到近些年它才受到主流羣體的青睞。由於消費者對智能手機和平板的需求激增，播客的訂閱率也大幅上漲。

The appeal of the podcast partially resides in its multiplatform delivery and on-demand capabilities. You can tune in during those extra minutes of the day when you’re walking to the shops, waiting in a queue or riding the subway. Similar to television shows, podcasts are generally free to download and most offer new content every week.

能在多平臺按需播放是播客的一大吸引力。不論是在去商店的路上，還是排隊等地鐵或是坐地鐵時，你都可以收聽幾分鐘的播客。播客和電視節目一樣，大都可以免費下載，而且每週更新。

Donna Jackson, 22, Sydney university media graduate, listens to podcasts two or three times a week, via iTunes. “I listen while I’m pottering around the house doing something else. It makes completing a boring task a lot more enjoyable… And it’s an easy way of keeping in touch with what’s going on in the rest of the world,” she said.

22歲的唐娜•傑克遜是悉尼大學媒體專業的畢業生。她每週使用iTunes收聽播客兩到三次，她說，“我在家裏晃盪時就會聽（播客），它讓我做枯燥工作時更享受……它還可以讓我輕鬆瞭解國際時事。 ”

“I mainly listen to BBC podcasts, but recently I’ve also been tuning into This American Life and Serial. They have a knack for really drawing you in.”

“我主要聽BBC播客，不過，最近我也在聽《美國生活》及《連環殺手》。它們真的會讓人一聽就欲罷不能。”

Unlike television and music, the audio format has the potential to create a deep impression on readers. Blumberg says this comes down to the podcast’s ability “[to create] intimacy and emotional connection.” Sydney University undergraduate Hazel Proust, major in social work and arts, agrees. “When you’re tuned in, it feels as if the voice of the [podcast’s] narrator is talking directly to you. It’s comforting,” said Proust.

播客與電視和音樂不同，它能給聽衆留下深刻印象。布隆伯格認爲這是由於播客能“製造出一種親密感、能建立起（與聽衆的）精神紐帶”。 在悉尼大學主修社工及藝術專業的本科生黑茲爾普魯斯特也贊同布隆伯格的說法，他說，“ 當你聽播客時，你會感覺播主在直接與你交流。 這讓人感覺很舒心。”

It seems the age-old tradition of verbal storytelling is very much alive and well.

看來，這種口頭講故事的傳統仍充滿活力，經久不衰。