"Utan If, ingen podcast"
En analys av sponsring i svenska podcasts
Internet and convergence culture has changed the terms of the media landscape. When old media converge and new ones take form, questions about how these should be classified arise, which is accompanied by new challenges in terms of ethics and regulations. One of these newfound mediums is podcasting; an expanding auditive pull-medium available through streaming or downloading on the Internet.This study, which was conducted as a quantitative content analysis, examines the use of sponsorship in four of the most popular Swedish podcasts. This was done as an attempt to understand how producers of a new and unregulated medium choose to go about presenting their sponsor, without having any ethical guidelines to follow. Traditional media is already regulated and have ethical guidelines, that for example regulate how to address a sponsor, but in the new and expanding world of podcasting there are no ethical rules and guidelines.Our study shows that the placements of the sponsorship messages tend to vary and that there is very little consensus regarding how these podcasts choose to present their sponsor. Within the podcasts, we notice distinct approaches regarding how they address their sponsor. When presenting its sponsor, the podcasts tend to do this by expressing feelings, opinions and benefits regarding the brand, company or its products. Overall, this study indicates an inconsistency in the handling and communication of sponsorships. We feel as if the producers learn as they go which leads us to the conclusion that a common set of ethical guidelines are needed.