ICast
The CBS News iCast was the world's first daily news audio podcast created, produced, written and hosted by CBS Radio news correspondent Chris Mavridis until he left CBS News in September 2006. It was hosted briefly by CBS correspondents Jim Chenevey, Steve Kathan and Jim Taylor until its cancellation in the winter of 2007. It was available on cbsnews.com and aggregated to hundreds of other websites.
Description
The CBS News iCast was created and developed by CBS News Radio correspondent and anchor Chris Mavridis and was intended as a daily downloadable network newscast for 18–34 year-olds. It was usually 5–7 minutes in length. Under the direction of Mavridis, the iCast was initially presented in a groundbreaking "theatre-of-the-mind" radio format. Dramatic, theatrical and packed with audio snippets, interviews, natural sound and music, it departed the traditional bonds of a newscast and created a completely new genre. Billboard magazine's Radio and Records would describe Chris's iCast forma as transforming "the traditional role of a reporter into more of an audio guide with an edge who leads the listener through a news story's chain of interrelated actualities."
Each show opens with the big story of the day, usually in a mock-conversation format, inserting pre-taped interviews and field reports to create the illusion of a conversation. The second segment is usually another major story of the day told in a slightly more sobering method. It is followed by "The World", which details three typically odd international news pieces, followed by the closing item, which usually involves music.
Evolution
Since its launch on July 27, 2006, the iCast quickly evolved from an edgy audio-rich news show, to a slightly more comedic and theatrical look at the days events. Notable episodes include the September 5, 2006 edition when an echoey-sounding Chris begins from inside his "terror bunker", but is slowly lured outside by positive news from a new government terror assessment. He is eventually spooked back inside barricading himself behind what sounds like a heavy metal door. Chris used various characters to help tell stories. There were cameos by CBS News support staff, the recurring "smooth-talkin' airline pilot" voiced by Mavridis, and Chris's own Mom who made several appearances on the phone from Canada and garnered a following among listeners.
Other notable shows
August 10: "Terror Plot Shake Up": Chris finds himself at an airport customs checkpoint on the day officials ban carry-on liquids. Chris is heard unloading his contraband, which includes a can of Red Bull "for later", chicken stock and a urine sample.
August 29: "Katrina Anniversary": In the open, Chris edits himself into a Boulder County press conference about the JonBenét Ramsey case, weaving a convincing conversation with the under-fire District Attorney. He uses a clip listing the various costs related to arresting a suspect, who turned out to be innocent, to make a mock Mastercard "Priceless" ad. Later, Chris put aside humor for a tasteful and vivid recap of Hurricane Katrina. He edited two versions of the song "Louisiana 1927" into a seamless duet and weaved in archival news clips to create a powerful tribute and memorial.
August 30 "CNN's Microphone Gaffe" Chris reported on a CNN gaffe in which an anchor's accidentally mic'd bathroom conversation was broadcast under the President's speech. Chris scolds CNN's lack of professionalism, offers the President's speech in its entirety, then himself dashes out to the urinal with his mic still "on".
Distribution
According to the July 26, 2006 edition of Billboard magazine, the podcast was "made available to more than 500 CBS Radio News affiliates, as well as via the CBS Radio network and the group’s own Web site. One day after its debut on July 26, 2008, CBS News Vice President of Radio Harvey Nagler told the New York Times that he believed Mavridis's iCast would "most definitely change the way (people) think of CBS Radio News." It was an immediate success.
Impact on Journalism
Critics, including media writer Marc Weissblott, and fans called it the most innovative newscast anywhere. In September of 2006, shortly after Mavridis's departure from CBS News, several top journalism schools across the United States and Canada adopted the "iCast" as part of their respective curricula. Columbia School of Journalism taught an "iCast" class. So did professors at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, the University of Jacksonville, who used it to teach classes in "the Future of Media" and "the Future of News Writing". Toronto's Ryerson University school of Journalism, Humber College and Seneca College also use the iCast as a teaching tool. Mavridis has since toured some of these schools lecturing on new media.
End of the iCast
After Mavridis's departure from CBS News, the iCast was hosted by various correspondents from CBS News Radio. Anchor Jim Chenevey hosted the show for several weeks, infusing music and humor into the show. Correspondent Dave Barett hosted occasionally and continued the tradition of innovative story telling through strong writing, music and use of sound. Eventually, CBS anchor and WCBS News reporter Jim Taylor assumed full-time iCast duties. The show, while still creative, began to veer towards a more traditional-sounding newscast. By the spring of 2007, the iCast was cancelled and replaced by a recording of CBS Radio's World News Roundup, anchored by Nick Young.