Will NPR's podcasts birth a new business model for public radio?

Mark Glaser writes:  "Last summer, the folks running National Public Radio started to get a clear message from their listeners and member stations: Give us podcasts! They received e-mail requests from listeners for months, and the term "podcast" was one of the most searched terms on NPR.org. The public spoke, and NPR listened, launching podcasts on Aug. 31.  ¶  Talk about pent-up demand. According to Maria Thomas, vice president and general manager of NPR Online, it took only six days after launch for NPR's 'Story of the Day' podcast to reach the coveted No. 1 spot on iTunes for most downloaded podcast. On Nov. 21, NPR's podcasts held down 11 spots on the iTunes Top 100, more than any other media outlet. ..."  Link:  Online Journalism Review.  Nice overview.  I've been part of this project and have been very impressed with not only how quickly this has caught on with listeners but also with how quickly NPR was able to successfully mount this effort under Maria's leadership.  --Dennis