Month: June 2026

Can Human Creators Still Win in an AI-Flooded Media World? | Rob Walch #669

~ Rob Greenlee ~ Leave a comment

New Media Show with Rob Greenlee #669 with Guest Rob Walch, VP, Podcaster Relations at Captivate.comIn episode 669 of the New Media Show, host Rob Greenlee talks with Rob Walch, VP of Podcaster Relations at Captivate and DAX.

Podcast Hall of Famers Rob Walch and Rob Greenlee discuss one of the biggest pressure points facing creators today: Can human creators grow, monetize, and maintain audience trust as platforms fill with AI-generated podcasts, synthetic video, cloned voices, and automated content channels?

I apologize for the rough audio in this episode. The audio was choppy in the virtual recording, and I did the best I could to improve it.

The conversation begins with a bigger question: Where is the line between useful AI tools and low-effort, fully automated content that weakens trust, damages advertising ROI, and makes it harder for original creators to be discovered and rewarded?

AI can help creators research, edit, translate, caption, clip, and distribute their work more efficiently. But the human perspective, real creative judgment, authentic voice, and trusted audience relationship must remain at the center of the content experience.

Rob Walch shares updates on Captivate, DAX, and the evolving podcast monetization landscape before diving into the rise of mass-produced AI content and the growing use of the term “AI slop.”

Rob Greenlee and Rob Walch discuss why not every use of AI belongs in the same category, why transparency and disclosure matter, and how creators can use AI responsibly without losing the human value that makes their work worth following.

They also explore YouTube’s evolving AI-labeling approach, the future of human-generated content, platform responsibility, advertising risks, Apple HLS video, YouTube’s new focus on audio listening, video-versus-audio strategy, and how AI tools may help independent creators manage a rapidly expanding distribution workload.

The larger takeaway is that creators do not need to choose between being human and using AI. The opportunity is to use AI as a creative and operational assistant while keeping human thinking, trust, judgment, relationships, and original perspective at the core of the work.

00:00 Welcome to New Media Show #669
01:30 Introducing Rob Walch and His New Role at Captivate
02:30 Captivate Marketplace and Creator Monetization
05:00 What DAX and Global Bring to Podcast Advertising
08:30 What Does “AI Slop” Actually Mean?
11:00 How Mass AI Content Could Hurt Ad ROI and CPMs
13:30 The Scale of AI-Generated Podcast Uploads
16:00 Why AI Use Is Not One-Size-Fits-All
18:00 Bad Human Content vs. Bad AI Content
20:00 Platform Responsibility, Spam, and Fraud
22:00 YouTube AI Labeling and Creator Disclosure
25:00 AI Watermarks, Trust, and Human-Generated Content
28:00 Will Advertisers Prefer Human-Hosted Shows?
30:00 When Creators Should Disclose AI Use
33:00 AI Tools for Research, Editing, Audio Cleanup, and Workflows
36:00 Human Creativity Still Matters
39:00 Platform Discovery, Algorithms, and Audience Signals
44:00 Audio, Video, and YouTube’s Growing Interest in Listening
49:00 Apple HLS Video and the Podcast Monetization Challenge
54:00 Video Production, Baked-In Ads, and Creator Complexity
57:00 Why New Creators Can Still Start Audio-First
01:00:00 AI-Powered Clips, Repurposing, and Distribution
01:03:00 Monetization Risks and Alternatives Beyond Advertising
01:07:00 Podcast Standards, Video Metrics, and IAB Definitions
01:11:00 The Future of Audio, Video, AI, and Trusted Human Creators
01:19:00 Closing Thoughts and Where to Find Rob Walch

Guest and Host Links

Guest: Rob Walch
VP of Podcaster Relations, Captivate and DAX
Captivate: https://Captivate.fm
Global DAX: https://Global.com
Podcast411: https://Podcast411.com

Host: Rob Greenlee
New Media Show: https://NewMediaShow.com
Rob Greenlee: https://RobGreenlee.com
Trust Factor Lab: https://TrustFactorLab.com
Podcast Hall of Fame: https://PodcastHall.com
Rob Greenlee on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/robgreenlee
Rob Greenlee Booking: https://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.

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

~ Rob Greenlee ~ Leave a comment

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.

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Are Podcast Networks becoming Creator Networks? | Greg Wasserman #666

~ Rob Greenlee ~ Leave a comment

New Media Show with Rob Greenlee and guest Greg WassermanIn episode 666 of the New Media Show, hosted by 2017 Podcast Hall of Famer Rob Greenlee, Rob talks with Greg Wasserman, Head of Relationships at RSS.com and host of Podcast Network Insights, for a deep conversation about one of the biggest questions facing podcasting, video, creator media, and digital networks right now:

Podcast networks were originally built for an audio-first industry, but audiences have already moved the definition of a podcast beyond audio. Today, a podcast can be a YouTube show, a Spotify video, an Apple video podcast, a livestream, a short clip, a newsletter, a community, or part of a larger creator-led media brand.

Greg brings a unique perspective from his work at RSS.com and from interviewing the leaders behind podcast networks, collectives, production companies, and niche media groups on Podcast Network Insights. He explains that podcast networks are no longer one simple model. Some are media-sales businesses. Some are community-driven groups. Some operate more like production companies, collectives, or full creator networks.

Rob and Greg explore how the network model is shifting as video, live streaming, AI, Apple Podcasts, HLS video, YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, FAST channels, private communities, and creator monetization reshape what podcasting can become.

The conversation also asks whether independent podcasters should join networks, what creators need to understand before making that decision, and why the future may depend less on downloads alone and more on trust, audience relationships, collaboration, niche value, and direct monetization.

00:00 Welcome to New Media Show #666

00:32 Are podcast networks becoming creator networks?

01:00 How audiences have already redefined podcasting

02:00 Introducing Greg Wasserman from RSS.com

03:00 Why Greg created Podcast Network Insights

04:00 How different podcast networks define community

05:00 Monetization, growth, and the changing role of networks

06:00 Internal network community vs audience community

07:00 Private communities, subscriptions, and audience relationships

08:00 Nova Podcast Network and media-company network models

09:00 Cross-promotion and collaboration inside networks

10:00 Are creators returning to collaboration?

11:00 Podcast networks as media companies

13:00 Owned-and-operated shows vs independent rev-share shows

15:00 Why ad revenue is not the only network business model

16:00 Marketing Podcast Network and niche value

17:00 Jay Shetty, Netflix, and platform exclusivity

18:00 Is Netflix becoming a podcast network?

19:00 Collectives, media companies, and different network definitions

20:00 What is a podcast network today?

21:00 Production companies and network partnerships

23:00 How creators should decide whether to join a network

24:00 Understanding your “why” before joining a network

25:00 iHeart, ad inventory, and the volume-based network model

26:00 Why sponsor status can distract from real monetization

27:00 Does network branding still matter?

28:00 Pineapple Street, GZM, Disney, and network identity

30:00 MCNs, YouTube networks, and the return of multi-channel networks

31:00 Silicon Valley, new media networks, and digital-native media

34:00 Traditional media adopts podcasting, video, and companion content

35:00 Apple Podcasts HLS video as a future distribution channel

36:00 Why video attracts higher media dollars

37:00 Know, like, and trust as a creator value

38:00 Will Apple Podcasts HLS video matter?

39:00 Free platforms, hidden costs, and creator control

41:00 Future ad dashboards across Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and Twitch

42:00 Platform exclusivity, Jay Shetty, Joe Rogan, and audience loss

44:00 Creator hustle and why networks cannot do all the work

46:00 Subscription fatigue and fragmented media access

47:00 More than 20 ways creators can make money

48:00 Lean creator teams, production help, and content scale

49:00 How podcast networks are using AI

50:00 AI-generated voices, sleep content, and audience behavior

52:00 AI for ads, scripts, show notes, social, and workflows

53:00 AI podcast networks and automated show creation

54:00 Agentic workflows and creator production systems

56:00 AI-generated content, humanity, and audience trust

57:00 Algorithms, AI interfaces, and future discovery

58:00 Platform algorithm changes and creator risk

59:00 Human connection, live events, and AI video podcasts

01:00:00 Why human storytelling still matters

01:01:00 Could creators build AI clones of themselves?

01:02:00 Avatars, HeyGen, Gemini, and disclosure

01:03:00 Human-hosted content labels and AI transparency

01:04:00 Video-first creators and separate audio/video feeds

01:05:00 Why The New Media Show still uses separate audio and video feeds

01:06:00 Audio-first creators, social media, and growth challenges

01:07:00 Different networks play different games

01:08:00 The future of compelling audio experiences

01:09:00 Spatial audio, AI audio, and interactive media

01:10:00 Personalized audience experiences and liquid content

01:11:00 Can audiences be moved from YouTube to Netflix?

01:12:00 Bundling, subscriptions, and platform experiments

01:15:00 Algorithms vs human curation

01:16:00 Netflix, FAST channels, and new distribution models

01:17:00 The technology challenge behind FAST channels

01:23:00 Greg’s Tesla and the future of in-car video podcast listening

01:24:00 RSS.com, Podcasting 2.0, and AI labeling standards

01:25:00 Closing thoughts and where podcasting is heading

Guest and Host Links

Guest: Greg Wasserman

Head of Relationships at RSS.com and host of Podcast Network Insights

Host: Rob Greenlee

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’s held leadership roles at Microsoft, Spreaker, Libsyn, StreamYard, and PodcastOne, and serves as Chairperson of the Podcast Hall of Fame. Learn more at RobGreenlee.com and join the Trust Factor Lab Creator/Podcast Services.

Personal/AI Disclosure Note: I used AI tools to help organize and edit this episode and generate show notes. I have made hand edits; the views, clarifications, responsibility, and industry perspective are mine and my guest’s. I have been working in podcasting and platform adoption for more than two decades, and this article reflects my own position.

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