Lesson plan

Parcast

Parcast was a digital media firm and podcast network, that specialized in producing scripted podcasts and audio dramas. It was founded in 2016 by podcaster Max Cutler and his father Ron Cutler in Los Angeles California. In 2019, it was acquired by Sweden-based media firm and streaming service provider Spotify. Spotify spent over $56 million to acquire Parcast; however, the total compensation has been reported to be over $100 million. This makes the Parcast acquisition one of the largest podcasting platform mergers in US history and largest single acquisition deal of Spotify's $400 million acquisition program. In September 2020, employees went public with their union drive at Parcast. A month later, Spotify voluntarily recognized the union. 15 months later, 56 workers of the bargaining unit ratified their first collective agreement, which included a minimum salary of $70,000, annual increases and affirmative action when hiring. On June 5, 2023, Spotify sent a memo to staff announcing that Parcast would be merged with Gimlet Media into a single Spotify Studios division, as part of a restructuring that also included the elimination of 200 jobs.

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Article summary

Parcast was a digital media firm and podcast network, that specialized in producing scripted podcasts and audio dramas. It was founded in 2016 by podcaster Max Cutler and his father Ron Cutler in Los Angeles California. In 2019, it was acquired by Sweden-based media firm and streaming service provider Spotify. Spotify spent over $56 million to acquire Parcast; however, the total compensation has been reported to be over $100 million. This makes the Parcast acquisition one of the largest podcasting platform mergers in US history and largest single acquisition deal of Spotify's $400 million acquisition program. In September 2020, employees went public with their union drive at Parcast. A month later, Spotify voluntarily recognized the union. 15 months later, 56 workers of the bargaining unit ratified their first collective agreement, which included a minimum salary of $70,000, annual increases and affirmative action when hiring. On June 5, 2023, Spotify sent a memo to staff announcing that Parcast would be merged with Gimlet Media into a single Spotify Studios division, as part of a restructuring that also included the elimination of 200 jobs.

Key claims

  1. date of foundation: 2016 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. employees: 2020, employees — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of foundation is "2016". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the employees is "2020, employees". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  5. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1329095847

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.