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Is New Media Replacing the Creator Economy? | Ollie Forsyth #668

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2026

In episode 668 of the New Media Show, host Rob Greenlee talks with Ollie Forsyth, founder of New Economies and New-Media.co, about the fast-changing meaning of “New Media” and why creator-led media is becoming one of the most important shifts in digital publishing, podcasting, video, newsletters, live streaming, and AI-powered content. The conversation begins with a bigger question: what does “New Media” mean now? For years, the term New Media has described digital media outside traditional broadcast, print, and cable. But in 2026, the meaning is changing again. New Media is becoming less about a format and more about who the audience trusts, where attention is moving, and how creators are building direct relationships through podcasts, YouTube channels, newsletters, X, Instagram, live shows, private communities, short-form clips, and emerging AI-generated formats. Ollie shares how New-Media.co started as a mapping project focused on tech newsletters, podcasts, and creator-led media brands, and quickly became a broader signal that a new category is forming. New Media is no longer just a description of online content. It is becoming a business, creator, and distribution category. Rob and Ollie explore whether podcasting is still its own category or is becoming one lane within a larger New Media ecosystem. Rob brings the long history of podcasting, RSS, video podcasting, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Netflix, and creator platforms into the discussion, asking whether the word “podcast” is still enough to describe what audiences now consume. A major theme in this episode is the difference between audience size and audience value. Ollie argues that creators do not always need massive audiences if they have focused, valuable, trusted communities. A show with 5,000 highly relevant listeners or viewers can be more valuable than a much larger audience that does not convert or engage. The discussion also moves into traditional media and why legacy media companies may struggle to adapt to this new creator-led environment. Ollie says the difference is not just production quality. It is the vibe, the trust, the format, and the feeling that audiences are getting access to something more direct and less institutional. Rob and Ollie also talk about how X, Instagram, YouTube, newsletters, and short-form clips are becoming the new media distribution stack. YouTube remains central for video and long-form discovery, while X and Instagram are becoming powerful platforms for attention and conversation for creators and media brands. The final part of the episode turns to AI-generated content, synthetic media, AI micro-dramas, AI-generated podcasts, disclosure, and audience trust. Rob raises the tension around the term “AI slop” and whether the podcast industry is reacting differently to bad AI content than it has historically reacted to bad human-created content. Ollie argues that AI can help create new forms of content, but it cannot replace the human element, charisma, taste, and trust that make a real show work. This episode lands on a core New Media Show idea: podcasting helped build the foundation of today's creator-led media world, but the next era is broader, more video-driven, more AI-assisted, more platform-diverse, and more dependent on human trust than ever before. Key Topics: What “New Media” means in 2026 Why creator-led media is gaining cultural and business influence New Media vs. the creator economy How New-Media.co maps creators, newsletters, podcasts, and media brands Why podcasting may now be one lane inside a broader media ecosystem Audience size vs. audience value Why niche audiences can be more powerful than mass reach How creators are building multi-platform distribution systems YouTube, X, Instagram, Substack, newsletters, and short-form video The role of clips in modern media growth Why traditional media struggles to capture the creator-led “vibe” How legacy media companies could partner with creators Why “podcast” may be an audience term more than a creator identity Netflix, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and the shifting meaning of shows AI-generated podcasts, AI micro-dramas, and synthetic content Disclosure and transparency around AI-created media Why human taste, trust, charisma, and curation still matter The future of podcasting inside the larger New Media category Chapter Markers: 00:00 Welcome to New Media Show #668 00:30 Why New Media Is Entering a New Era 01:30 Introducing Ollie Forsyth 03:00 What New Media Means Now 04:00 How New-Media.co Started 05:30 Why the New Media Category Is Gaining Attention 06:30 Mapping the New Media Landscape 08:00 How Creators Get Discovered 10:00 Creator Economy vs. New Media 11:30 Why OpenAI and TBPN Became a Signal 13:30 Audience Value vs. Audience Size 16:30 Timely vs. Timeless Content 18:00 Why Distribution Channels Matter 20:00 Are Podcasters Becoming Creators? 21:30 AI Micro-Dramas and New Entertainment Formats 23:00 Short-Form Content and Creator ROI 25:00 Building Multiple Distribution Channels 27:00 Is Podcasting Still the Right Term? 29:00 Apple Podcasts, HLS Video, and YouTube's Influence 31:30 New Media as a Broader Category 32:30 Why AI Companies Want New Media Shows 33:30 Why Legacy Media Struggles to Adapt 35:00 The Vibe Difference Between Traditional Media and Creator Media 37:00 X, Instagram, and the New Distribution Stack 40:30 YouTube, Video, and Future-Proofing Media Brands 43:00 Planning Content Like a Media Company 45:00 Is Podcasting One Lane on a Bigger Freeway? 48:00 Why Creators Need More Than One Channel 50:00 Does the Audience Care What We Call It? 52:00 Is It Just a Show Now? 53:30 Netflix, YouTube, and Audience Expectations 55:00 Is New Media Here to Stay? 56:30 Taste, Attention, and Human Connection 58:30 AI-Generated Content and Podcasting's Reaction 01:00:30 AI Disclosure and Transparency 01:02:00 AI Micro-Dramas and Synthetic Media 01:03:30 Can AI Replace the Human Element? 01:05:00 Bad AI Content vs. Bad Human Content 01:07:00 Why YouTube Raises the Production Bar 01:09:00 Why Human Curation Still Matters 01:11:00 Where New Media Goes Next 01:13:00 Closing Thoughts Guest and Host Links Guest: Ollie Forsyth Founder, New Economies and New-Media.co New Media: new-media.co New Economies: neweconomies.co Host: Rob Greenlee New Media Show: NewMediaShow.com Rob Greenlee: RobGreenlee.com Podcast Hall of Fame: PodcastHall.com Rob Greenlee on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robgreenlee Rob Greenlee Booking: calendly.com/robgreenlee About the Host/Author: Rob Greenlee is a 2017 Podcast Hall of Fame inductee and Chair, a global new-media leader who bridges podcasting's human roots and its AI-driven future. As founder of Trust Factor Lab and host of the New Media Show and Spoken Human, Rob helps creators start, grow, monetize, and future-proof their content. He has held leadership roles at Microsoft, Spreaker, Libsyn, StreamYard, Podbean, and PodcastOne, and serves as Chairperson of the Podcast Hall of Fame. Personal / AI Disclosure Note: I used AI tools to help organize and edit this episode description and generate show notes from the episode transcript. The views, clarifications, responsibility, and industry perspective are mine and my guest's. I have been working in podcasting, digital media, and platform adoption for more than two decades, and this article reflects my own position and editorial direction.The post Is New Media Replacing the Creator Economy? | Ollie Forsyth #668 first appeared on New Media Show.

What Actually Grows a Podcast or Show Now? | Jordan Harbinger #649

New Media Show (Video)

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2026

This week in episode 649 of the New Media Show, Rob Greenlee is joined by Jordan Harbinger to unpack the question creators ask nonstop in 2026: What actually grows a podcast or show (and what doesn't)? – Jordan's core answer is refreshingly “boring,” but real: long-term consistency, and realistic expectations about how long monetization can take—even for shows that eventually become huge. From there, the conversation expands into the bigger shift happening right now: – Audio podcasts increasingly competing (and collaborating) with video ecosystems especially YouTube where the “rules” and algorithmic expectations are fundamentally different from audio distribution. They also dig into platform strategy and brand-fit tension like whether “talk show” style content truly belongs on Netflix, and why creators may face tough tradeoffs when platforms want exclusivity that can limit reach elsewhere. After Jordan wraps and leaves the show, Rob closes with a rapid-fire, ranked set of growth plays emphasizing that none are magic bullets, but together they form a practical menu you can test based on your format and audience: – Short-form clips (done well) to reach different audiences while recognizing shorts viewers don't always convert to long-form listeners/viewers. – Guest/social amplification that's genuinely value-add (not generic promo spam). – Niche community, value-first posting built around knowing exactly who your show serves. – Owned audience via email/newsletter + even a WhatsApp group concept. – AI clip volume + testing (alternate cuts, tighter versions, experimentation). – Structured cross-promos / feed drops with comparable shows and fair “impressions”-style thinking. – Video distribution expansion including Spotify video (if Spotify makes changes) as another potential growth surface—and the emerging “start audio, finish video” behavior across devices. Guest: Jordan Harbinger Website: https://www.jordanharbinger.com Podcast: https://www.jordanharbinger.com/podcast/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JordanHarbinger Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordanharbinger/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanharbinger X: https://x.com/jordanharbinger Host: Rob Greenlee and New Media Show Links Rob Greenlee Website – https://robgreenlee.com/ New Media Show (Audio & Video) – https://newmediashow.com/ New Media Show Audio (Apple Podcasts) – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-media-show-audio/id392545649 Rob Greenlee on YouTube – https://youtube.com/@RobGreenlee Podfest Expo – https://podfestexpo.com – https://podcasthall.comThe post What Actually Grows a Podcast or Show Now? | Jordan Harbinger #649 first appeared on New Media Show.

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