SOFTWARE TOOLBOX
Propaganda Simplifies Podcast Propagation

If you're looking for the definition of hot in the technology world these days, you need look no further than anything even tangentially tagged to Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) diminutive dynamo the iPod.

Such is the case with "podcasting," so named because the files can be played on the iPod, although the files themselves, in most cases, aren't anything more than typical audio files unwedded any particular hardware or software platform.

Although the files themselves are unexceptional, podcasts do have a little wrinkle. Listeners can elect to pull them into their environs through the use of Real Simple Syndication, or RSS.

So, for example, if you subscribe to a podcast through Apple iTunes, each new edition posted to the Web will be pulled down into the program automatically.

Omnibus Tool

Like blogging, many people may be familiar with the concept of podcasting, but when the time comes to sit down and create one, they're left scratching their head trying to suss out what tools they'll need for the endeavor.

And like blogging, those tools are starting to appear on the market. One of them is Propaganda.

The US$49.95 program made by MixMeister provides the would-be podcaster with an omnibus application for audio blogging.

Three-Pane Approach

The Propaganda interface is divided into three window panes.

Sound clips for use in your podcast are listed in the library pane.

Audio files -- music, sound effects and such -- can be sucked into the library from anywhere on your computer. You can import files one at a time and in batches from a folder. You can also have the software watch a particular folder and as files are added to that folder, they'll automatically be added to the library.

What's more, you can record directly into the program with a button click -- provided you have a microphone connected to your system. Those recordings immediately become part of the library.

Library clips can be sorted by title, show and time by clicking column headers. There's also a text search function for rapidly finding of an item.

Drag and Drop Podcast

Clips for your current podcast are shown in the playlist pane.

Shows can be cobbled together by dragging and dropping clips from the library into the playlist. Once in that pane, the same method can be used to reorder the clips.

When dragged into the playlist, buttons for transitions and sound effects are added to the clip.

Transitions are limited to cross-fades -- a decrease in volume of an outgoing clip while the volume of an incoming clip increases -- and "beat mixes," which seemed geared more toward a DJ than a podcaster.

The canned sound effects included with the program are also limited but they give you an idea of what can be done to add aural interest to your production.

Mixing Sound Elements

The third pane is the timeline.

Users of video editing or slideshow software will find this pane familiar. It displays your clips as multiple bars plotted against time. You can use the time line to make adjustments to the length, position and volume of your clips.

Controlling the position of the clips allows you to layer your sound. For instance, you can place music under your narration or tie a sound effect to a phrase.

Each bar on the timeline includes a wave representation of your clip. You can zoom in on the wave and make precise adjustments in the clip. Cut out a cough, for example, or eliminate unwanted verbiage.

Releasing Your Inner Murrow

When you're finished with your production, you can export the file in WAV, WMA or MP3 format.

You can also send it directly to an iPod or other digital audio player.

Better yet, click "publish" and the show will be sent to a web page and coded generated automatically for podcasting.

If there's an Edward R. Murrow beckoning inside you, Propaganda is a painless and fun way to release him.