Navigating the Australian election with Isentia

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In Singapore, the rise of podcasting has shifted from leisure and way of life into a brand new area – public discourse and politics. Because the 2025 Common Election attracts close to, podcasters are making waves throughout on-line information and social media. To kick issues off, we used Narrative AI, the primary search engine for public opinion, to establish how massive the worldwide narrative on podcasts and their affect on audiences is within the final 6 months, utilizing knowledge from X.

We subsequently narrowed the main focus of this world pattern to Singapore and analysed on Pulsar TRAC greater than 7k mentions throughout platforms like YouTube, Fb, Reddit, TikTok, podcasts, On-line Information, blogs and boards to grasp the place the discourse is coming from, which channels are capturing the podcasters’ content material and the way audiences are responding to this content material. 

Mentions of podcasts in information and social media are rising

Social media is the place the bigger chunk of podcast dialog is happening, particularly these episodes that function a political determine, journalist or people who embody healthcare-related discussions. The audiences that have interaction with these movies, majority being on YouTube, seek for political credibility that resonates with them. Younger Singaporeans watching these podcasts count on to see leaders who don’t simply uphold the picture of being a politician, but additionally somebody who’s grounded and reliable.

Youth and politicians’ lives dominate podcast narratives

The audiences that eat these podcasts essentially the most are younger Singaporeans seeking to take part within the dialog as a lot as they will. These audiences are being extra proactive than ever.

With youthful voters consuming media otherwise, these appearances are efforts by political candidates to attach with the general public. Lawrence Wong, Josephine Teo, Indranee Rajah, and Desmond Tan, have used podcasts to speak straight with the general public – sidestepping conventional media filters.

Prime podcasters on election-related content material

After we deal with who essentially the most talked about podcasters round election content material are, the Straits Occasions’ podcasts, the Every day Ketchup and Yah Lah BUT emerge on high. These podcasts have figured that essentially the most discourse occurs round content material that’s both academic or controversial round elections. The general public is actively responding to political content material shared by way of podcasts, notably these by The Straits Occasions and impartial reveals like Yah Lah BUT. 

How are podcasts doing on Tiktok?

Satire and irony are key methods to make politics palatable, particularly for youthful, digital-native audiences. The Every day Ketchup and Yah Lah BUT are mixing severe subjects just like the GE2025, get together agendas, healthcare, and opposition voices with humour that make them virtually meme-worthy. Posts equivalent to “PAP actually mentioned: ‘Belief me, bro’” TikTok clips present that these are genuinely made for content material to go viral whereas retaining severe undertones too. 

What’s attention-grabbing to notice is that The Frequent Of us, with content material in Malay and Indonesian, is tapping right into a cross-border Southeast Asian viewers and has a number of the highest engagement on its content material. Native slang, cultural jokes, and informal festive content material like Raya greetings and songkok jokes have generated hundreds of views, at instances outperforming English-language political pods. This implies a big, under-acknowledged urge for food for vernacular podcast content material that has a mix of humour and relatability. 

Podcasts are not simply background noise – they’re turning into one of the crucial related methods Singaporeans have interaction with politics. With excessive engagement on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, a large unfold of subjects from youth points to get together politics, and rising presence in each mainstream and social media, podcasters are carving out a key position in shaping the GE 2025 dialog. 

Keen on studying extra? Electronic mail us at data@isentia.com

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Because the federal election marketing campaign reaches its midpoint, patterns in media protection and public consideration are starting to shift. Early social engagement was pushed by cost-of-living pressures, power coverage, and political point-scoring, however has waned following the primary leaders debate, regardless of this discussion board offering leaders the chance to set the agenda and techniques of the most important events. So how has protection focus advanced for the reason that first debate and are audiences nonetheless partaking with the marketing campaign or switching off?

Social media engagement forward of the federal election has been sharp and private. It centered much less on coverage and extra on identification and illustration. From debates on subjects equivalent to  immigration to housing stress and tradition, social media has pushed a values-first narrative. However whereas early consideration  was sturdy, each media protection and social engagement have began to wane within the weeks for the reason that marketing campaign launched. The primary leaders debate briefly reignited consideration—belief, identification, and media—however protection patterns recommend a shift away from each day blow-by-blow reporting in direction of broader social and cultural tensions.

Because the federal election marketing campaign nears its midway mark, final week’s media highlights present a contest nonetheless struggling to chop by means of. Key moments included the primary chief’s debate, the Treasurers Debate, the power showdown on the Nationwide Press Membership, and Senator Jacinta Worth’s Perth look with Peter Dutton, which drew consideration for its MAGA-style rhetoric.  The primary leaders debate was billed as an opportunity to reset the race—however for a lot of viewers, it bolstered present divides. Media consideration across the debate momentarily lifted visibility for all main events—however the spike was short-lived. The one get together that has seen continued will increase in social media engagement is the Liberal Celebration. The Liberal Celebration’s sustained rise in social media engagement could also be linked to its digital-first technique, together with an AI-generated marketing campaign advert spruiking a gas excise lower and a meme-style diss monitor focusing on Anthony Albanese—ways designed to seize on-line consideration and drive shareability.

The Liberals additionally pitched a $1200 tax lower, Labor attacked their WFH backflip, and the Greens pushed housing and tax reform. In the meantime, Dutton warned of a Labor-Greens-Teal alliance. Protection suggests public engagement is pushed extra by polarising moments and political theatre than detailed coverage.

When the election marketing campaign formally kicked off, cost-of-living pressures dominated the information agenda. Recent off the again of the federal funds, it’s no shock that reasonably priced healthcare, decrease gasoline and power costs, and tax cuts had been the important thing messages get together leaders wished to land with voters. However protection rapidly pivoted. Prior to now week, international diplomacy—notably how every chief would handle Donald Trump—has surged in prominence. Whereas Trump’s position in tariff threats has made headlines, his affect on the broader election narrative goes past commerce. Media reporting has more and more centred on Albanese and Dutton’s capability to navigate a possible Trump presidency, with ideological alignment, nationwide safety, and financial fallout all in play. The primary leaders’ debate was anticipated to refocus the marketing campaign on home points. Nonetheless, it briefly touched on worldwide considerations, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressing the potential financial influence of Trump’s proposed tariffs. Albanese described these tariffs as an “act of financial self-harm” that will dampen world progress, highlighting the intertwining of international coverage with home financial considerations. This implies that sustained consideration is extra probably when home points are reframed by means of the lens of international diplomacy, and nationwide identification.

Within the social media panorama, Trump was a flashpoint in election-related dialog. His affect—actual or perceived—was rapidly linked to the Liberal Celebration, with MAGA-style rhetoric and Trumpian coverage cues gaining traction on-line. These narratives are inclined to escalate on platforms the place ideological alignment and cultural grievance amplify engagement. But it surely wasn’t all imported tradition wars—the federal funds, and the Liberal Celebration’s gas excise rebuttal, additionally drove important social chatter. In current weeks, comparisons between main get together messaging and Trump-era coverage—from worldwide scholar caps and nuclear power to debates about faculty curricula—have continued to dominate dialogue.

The primary leaders’ debate briefly touched on international coverage, with Albanese warning Trump’s tariffs might harm world progress, whereas Dutton framed it as a take a look at of sturdy management. Domestically, Dutton’s renewed push for nuclear energy reignited social media debate—drawing comparisons to Trump-era insurance policies and fuelling dialogue about Australia’s power future. On the similar time on social media, guarantees like HECS cuts, free TAFE, and extra funding for public faculties sparked real engagement, particularly amongst youthful voters and schooling employees, exhibiting that sensible, future-focused insurance policies can nonetheless lower by means of. In comparison with the beginning of the marketing campaign, the place cost-of-living dominated as a top-line concern, the dialog has expanded: audiences are actually weighing each hip-pocket points and the nationwide values shaping Australia’s future.

Whereas the controversy itself tended to be overshadowed by frustrations about entry and media management, a number of political undercurrents nonetheless surfaced. Anthony Albanese drew some optimistic mentions, however reactions had been removed from policy-focused. The Liberal Celebration’s early declare of victory turned a degree of humour, with a number of customers likening it to Trump-style misinformation ways. Disillusionment with the most important events ran deep, with repeated calls to “break the donor-fuelled duopoly” and shift help towards independents or smaller events. Nonetheless, these reactions appear extra like a symptom of broader voter cynicism than an indication of energised political engagement, reflecting broader themes across the declining belief.

The leaders’ debate didn’t reset the race—it refracted it, spotlighting how media protection is now formed much less by coverage element and extra by polarising symbols and cultural cues. As election day nears, the competition for consideration is revealing simply as a lot about media technique and voter fatigue as it’s about get together platforms.

Uncover extra of our political information companies

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The Australian podcasting information trade continues to develop. Whereas Australian audiences do eat content material from worldwide manufacturers just like the BBC, in addition they exhibit sturdy affinity for impartial Australian productions over mainstream sources. In a interval of uncertainty amidst Apple’s current replace to automated obtain insurance policies Australia’s podcast viewers has quickly expanded, with advert income rising from $5 million in 2017 to over $100 million in 2024. So how do podcasts match into the Australian information cycle? As audiences direct consideration to impartial and worldwide productions, viewers focusing on, partnerships and media monitoring traits point out a shift and a must adapt engagement metrics and messaging technique.

To focus on the influence of podcasts on viewers engagement, we tracked protection of key information themes in Australian podcasting from January 2020 to November 2024.

Podcasts surged into the mainstream in the course of the pandemic, and so they’re now evolving by integrating with platforms like video and audiobooks to satisfy new viewers expectations. 

Whereas common podcast information dialogue stays regular, dialogue on information podcasts signifies listener engagement peaks round high-impact tales, suggesting that the subject and data itself is what actually resonates with audiences. Retailers like The Australian Monetary Assessment and ABC have expanded into the format, but even main applications like ABC’s Background Briefing face fluctuating engagement in comparison with dialogue about information content material being consumed by means of podcasts. The info suggests there’s a spot being left by principal retailers within the podcasting area. Whereas conventional media adapts, impartial producers are gaining traction with tales that deeply resonate on identification and group points, such because the 2021 Christian Porter case and The Briefing’s 2024 episode on pianist Jayson Gillham’s lawsuit towards the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Understanding viewers preferences and monitoring content material traits helps communicators craft methods that leverage podcasting’s distinctive enchantment.

https://twitter.com/Emilie_Dye/standing/1833416097871089706

Podcasts supply creators the liberty to pursue tales with fewer constraints of advertisers, buyers, or different stakeholders, resulting in content material deeply formed by private ardour and a powerful connection to the topic. This independence empowers impactful storytelling, as illustrated by The Instructor’s Pet, the place Hedley Thomas’s rigorous reporting on the case of Lynette Dawson uncovered new, vital particulars and underscored the journalistic integrity driving viewers engagement in a shared pursuit of fact. Equally, New Politics, co-created by Eddy Jokovich, leverages its Patreon-funded mannequin to discover views exterior mainstream narratives, showcasing the ability of impartial journalism by means of podcasting.

https://twitter.com/lisapodcasts/standing/1564484950984130565

https://twitter.com/EddyJokovich/standing/1632314733524303872

Sports activities and leisure are inclined to generate excessive visibility and engagement, suggesting they profit from a quicker publishing cadence and broad enchantment. Nonetheless points like world conflicts draw important consideration, particularly amongst communities straight impacted. The Briefing podcast, for instance, addressed the October 2024 battle in Gaza in a current episode the place Lebanese-Australian journalist Liz Deep-Jones provided a private perspective. One of these protection reveals how podcasts can present each journalistic depth and emotional resonance, connecting listeners to complicated tales in a extra relatable manner.

Even when a serious broadcaster or outlet owns a podcast manufacturing, the distinctive model and tone set by the hosts and manufacturing staff usually place podcasts exterior the standard PR and communications scope. Not like the rigorously curated speaking factors present in a typical puff piece or advertorial, podcasts permit for candid, in-depth discussions that discover complicated subjects with a level of freedom seldom present in conventional information media channels. This authenticity is pushed by the podcast format itself, which favours nuanced dialogue providing audiences a extra clear and fewer scripted narrative model.

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Lots of the main information podcasts, like The Quicky by Mamamia, comply with a each day launch that faucets into the rhythm of the 24-hour information cycle, offering well timed responses to breaking information. This format appeals to listeners by delivering information in a fast, digestible model, supreme for staying knowledgeable on the go and catering to audiences prioritising each comfort and relevance. It’s no shock, then, that high information spotlight podcasts usually incorporate advertisements at a number of factors—earlier than, throughout, and after episodes—capitalising on the excessive listener engagement these accessible, on-the-go updates create.

Sports activities and leisure podcasts have a tendency to draw increased engagement with frequent, simply digestible episodes, usually in the popular 20-30 minute vary, which maintain a gradual listener base. Personalities like Hamish and Andy, and John Graham exemplify how viewers visibility might be pushed extra by partaking personalities than by conventional information evaluation. In distinction, retailers like The Australian Monetary Assessment keep a extra analytical focus with podcasts equivalent to The Fin and Chanticleer, recognized for his or her conservative, business-centric tone. In the meantime, digital-first manufacturers like Mamamia take a extra hybrid, accessible method throughout diverse subjects, leveraging podcasting to succeed in broader audiences and foster engagement with impactful information tales. This vary of codecs illustrates how completely different manufacturers tailor their podcast methods to satisfy viewers preferences, from fast updates in leisure to in-depth discussions on present occasions.

Whereas legacy media retailers leverage their reputations to boost their podcast presence, credibility alone doesn’t guarantee engagement. As an alternative, PR and communications groups can increase viewers connection by aligning content material with listeners’ pursuits and authenticity, serving to refine podcasting methods to seize consideration and drive significant engagement.

Keen on studying extra? Electronic mail us at data@isentia.com

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