Podcasting the Internet

Podcast Alley! Isn't it amazing how this new technology is catching on in the blogosphere? Even more amazing; actually quite stunning it is that Catholic Insider is Number 4 of the "The Top 10 Podcasts for the month of May". I am a fan of Father Roderick, and it seems I am not the only one. It tells quite a bit about the spiritual health of the connected. On the Internet, there is no ACLU lurking about, shouting "Violations of Separation of Church and Internet!" Not yet, anyway. The Judeo-Christian tradition of showing all glory to God continues.

Notes from a Teacher writes:

... stories I’ve been following today point the way to the type of media I want for the future. ... I also want the personal journalism of people such as Father Roderick Vonhögen, a Dutch Catholic priest. I’ve been catching up on his Catholic Insider podcasts and among them was the one he recorded in in the hours following the announcement of the death of Pope John Paul II. Like any good journalist, Father Roderick took me to a specific place — St. Peter’s Square — at a specific time and shared with me what was happening at a momentous moment. He added to it his expertise and his humanity. And he layered it with his own reactions to the death of the pope. It left me with a greater understanding of the event than did the TV reports and newspaper stories.

Eamonn Fitzgerald calls Father Roderick "The Podfather".

... it may be too late for the newspaper business to recapture an audience that's heading for the exits. ... the kind of multimedia news that is becoming the next form of journalism is being assembled before our eyes. And here we come to the point of today's homily. Step forward Father Roderick Vonhögen, Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Utrecht in The Netherlands. Trading as The Catholic Insider, he's "Podcasting from the heart of the Catholic Church", as he puts it. Talk about brilliant use of the new media to deliver niche news! This guy's simply astonishing. Text, images, audio... he does it, with passion and style. "Let me take you back to the night before the pope's funeral, and let's do a soundseeingtour of the streets around St.Peter's square, crowded with ten thousands of young people who travelled to Rome from all over the world." Love that "soundseeingtour", there. And now he's podcasting around the conclave. ...(T)he Father Rodericks are way ahead of the game. And they're only getting going. Pod on, padre!