Exploring the Role of Podcasts: A Study of Agricultural Colleges and Extension Services' Use of Podcasting

This thesis explores the strategic use of podcasting as an educational and outreach tool by agricultural colleges, 1890 land grants, non-land grants institutions, and extension services across the United States. This study used the Uses and Gratifications (U&G) Theory to understand the motivations behind creating and promoting agricultural podcasts and how these digital media tools are used to engage audiences. The study was conducted in two phases. Phase One involved a content analysis of 69 agricultural podcasts, evaluating characteristics such as production frequency, topic focus, and distribution platforms. Phase Two consisted of one-on-one interviews with podcast hosts to identify underlying motivations and audience engagement strategies in podcast production. This study demonstrated that agricultural podcasts meet various audience needs, from cognitive gratifications through the delivery of technical information to social and affective gratifications by creating a sense of community and shared experience. Podcasters’ digital tools with traditional outreach methods suggest that podcasts can enhance educational outreach and engagement within the agricultural sector when used strategically. This study provides practical recommendations for educators and communicators looking to adopt podcasting and offers theoretical insights into how new media technologies are reshaping agricultural communication strategies.