Nicholas Quah

Nicholas Quah
Born1989 or 1990 (age 34–35)[1]
Other namesNick Quah
OccupationJournalist
EmployerVulture
Known forWriting about podcasts
Notable work
  • Hot Pod Newsletter
  • Servant of Pod
Awards
  • 2020 Antitrust Writing Award nominee
  • 2021 Fortune Creator 25
Websitewww.nicholasquah.com

Nicholas Quah is a journalist for Vulture and is the creator of the Nieman Lab newsletter Hot Pod News.

Career

Quah was the creator of the Hotpods newsletter.[2] Quah worked for BuzzFeed in 2015 while writing the newsletter.[3] Vox Media acquired the Hotpod newsletter in 2021 as part of plan to expand The Verge.[4][5] Quah had been running the newsletter for almost seven years.[6] After Hot Pod was acquired by The Verge, Quah started working at Vulture.[7] Quah also hosts his own podcast called "Servant of Pod," which discusses the business side of podcasting.[8][9] The show was a 2021 Webby Award honoree in the business category.[10] Quah occasionally contributes podcast reviews and criticism to NPR's Fresh Air.[11][12] He also wrote a book about the podcasting industry.[13]

Quah provided commentary on the effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on podcast consumption.[14] For instance, Quah noted that podcast downloads decreased in March 2020, but that in late April 2020 downloads began increasing again.[15][16] Jim Epstein criticized Quah for supporting government funded public broadcasting.[17] Quah is in support of a decentralized federated business model for NPR because he believes that would allow for an increase in local reporting.[18] Quah worked for Panoply and commented on the benefits of podcast networks.[19] Quah covered the story about Gimlet Media unionizing.[20] Quah opposed Luminary's paywalled business model saying that it "strikes at the ideological heart of the medium."[21][22] Quah pointed out that a paywalled podcast company will have to be able to beat all the free alternatives in order to do well.[23] Quah covered the plagiarism issues that Crime Junkie ran into.[24][25] Quah has called the true crime genre the "bloody, beating heart of podcasting."[26] Quah uses multiple podcasting applications but recommends Pocket Casts.[27]

Quah was a juror for the Peabody Awards.[28] Quah has written about how being on the Apple Podcast charts is often meaningless.[29] Quah was an Antitrust Writing Award nominee in 2020.[30] Quah was a 2021 Fortune Creator 25.[31] Tom Jones wrote in Poynter that "No one analyzes the ins and outs of the podcast world better" Quah and that "no one [provides reliable coverage on podcasts] better than Vulture's Nicholas Quah."[32][33]

References

  1. ^ Weissman, Cale Guthrie (March 10, 2017). "How This 27-Year-Old Transformed His Side Project Into A Business". Fast Company. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  2. ^ "Why Digital Hoarding Can Be Healthier Than Real World Hoarding". Fortune. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  3. ^ "A BuzzFeed employee secretly has finger on the pulse of the podcast universe". The Daily Dot. 2015-04-09. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  4. ^ Steinberg, Brian (September 7, 2021). "Vox Media Set to Acquire Podcasting Newsletter Hot Pod". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on September 7, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  5. ^ Carman, Ashley (2021-09-27). "Welcome to Hot Pod from The Verge". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  6. ^ "A Good Newsletter Exit Strategy Is Hard to Find". Vanity Fair. 2021-11-12. Archived from the original on 2022-03-02. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  7. ^ "Hot Pod acquired by Vox Media: The Media Roundup". What’s New in Publishing | Digital Publishing News. 2021-09-08. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  8. ^ Beer, Jeff (2020-06-17). "Podcasting's best listener launches his own podcast about podcasting. Is this 'peak podcast'?". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  9. ^ "Hot Pod creator Nick Quah on the 'massive gap' between podcast monetization and engagement". Digiday. 2020-07-28. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  10. ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  11. ^ "About 'Fresh Air'". NPR. NPR. May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  12. ^ Nick, Quah (May 10, 2023). "Nick Quah". Nick Quah. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  13. ^ Gamerman, Ellen (2018-07-16). "Podcasts Hit the Books". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2021-02-04. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  14. ^ Kerry Flynn (4 December 2020). "What's next for America's favorite news podcast". CNN. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  15. ^ "Put the paywalls back up on coronavirus coverage". Poynter. 2020-04-01. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  16. ^ "People crave coronavirus news, but they often need a break from it, too". Poynter. 2020-04-30. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  17. ^ "Funding for Public Broadcasting Is Just 0.01 Percent of the Federal Budget. It Should Still Be Eliminated". Reason.com. 2017-02-23. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  18. ^ "NPR is reinventing itself. Here's how it could change for the better". Poynter. 2017-06-27. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  19. ^ "Guide to Podcasting". Columbia Journalism Review. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  20. ^ Pellico, Katie (2019-03-15). "There is big money in podcasting. What does this mean for the industry? | CNN Business". CNN. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  21. ^ "Quah: Luminary Attracts Bile". Podcast Business Journal. 2019-03-13. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  22. ^ Mack, Zachary (2019-04-30). "Apple, Luminary, Spotify, and the podcast wars to come". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  23. ^ "Apple (AAPL) Developing Podcast Service". Investopedia. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  24. ^ "What the Plagiarism Accusations Against "Crime Junkie" Could Mean For Podcasting". InsideHook. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  25. ^ "The Problem With Crime Junkie". Indianapolis Monthly. 2019-11-07. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  26. ^ "Want to quit your job and start a true crime podcast? Obscura's host did it". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  27. ^ Smith, Rachel Holliday (January 29, 2019). "A Beginner's Guide to Getting Into Podcasts". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  28. ^ "Peabody Awards names new Board of Jurors; Monica Kaufman Pearson to lead Board". Grady College. 2021-11-15. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  29. ^ Carman, Ashley (2018-11-29). "Gaming the Apple Podcast charts is cheaper and easier than you think". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  30. ^ "Nicholas Quah - Concurrences". awards.concurrences.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  31. ^ "Nick Quah | Fortune Creator 25". Fortune. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  32. ^ "Hey Twitter, want to start a subscription model? Here's who to start charging first". Poynter. 2020-07-24. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  33. ^ "Here's a look back at the best and worst of news media in 2020". Poynter. 2020-12-18. Archived from the original on 2022-02-03. Retrieved February 3, 2022.