EDITORIAL PRIORITY AND QUANTITATIVE MAPPINGOF A PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTER'S PODCAST PORTFOLIO: EVIDENCE FROM RADIO PAKISTAN (2021–2025)
Keywords:
Content Audit, Editorial Priority, Institutional Media Analysis, Podcasting, Public Service Broadcasting, Quantitative Mapping, Radio Pakistan, Subcategory Balance Index, Subcategory Coverage IndexAbstract
This study introduces an Editorial Priority (EP) framework and applies it to evaluate editorial priority distributed across the podcast portfolio of Radio Pakistan country's national public service broadcaster. Drawing on a complete quantitative dataset of 1,078 podcast episodes covering 13 main categories, 37 sub-categories and a total broadcast duration of 30,227 minutes (503 hours 47 minutes) uploaded for stream between August 2021 and July 2025, the framework operationalizes editorial priority through two composite dimensions. Depth (production investment, weight 60%), total podcast episodes and share of each category of total broadcast minutes. and width (thematic scope, weighted 40%), measured by sub-category coverage index (SCI) and sub-category balance index (SBI). The resultant EP score calculated as EP = (0.60 × depth) + (0.40 × width) applies to all 13 main categories and their 37 component subcategories, allowing for systematic comparisons of the distribution of editorial resources. The results show a clear concentration of editorial investment in the news and current affairs category (EP = 36.36; rated as medium priority), which alone accounts for 35.90% of all episodes and 34.71% of total broadcast minutes, while other 12 categories score below 15, three in the Low Priority band and nine in the Very Low Priority band. The EP framework provides a transparent, replicable audit tool applicable to any PSB podcast catalogue, with implications for content policy and strategic planning.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Atif , Prof. (R) Dr. Abdul Wajid Khan (Author)
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