Introduction to Editing

Once you have recorded your scripted lecture segment, there is still an additional step needed before the podcast is ready to be distributed: the final editing process in Audacity. There are many useful reasons to edit a recording, and it is important not to neglect this step in the process of podcast production. While a well thought-out script and a carefully soundproofed room are critical steps in producing a podcast, putting the finishing touches on a recording instead of exporting it as a raw mp3 file can make or break the quality and professionalism of a podcast. 

A common edit needed for a podcast may be sound quality. There are options for improving sound quality that do not require you to re-record. One such option would be to utilize Audacity’s noise reduction tool to eliminate any unwanted background noise that you were unaware of during recording, such as buzzing, humming, a car passing by, and so forth. Other useful edit features include the ability to break a long recording into multiple files, delete entire clips from a recording, or speed up a recording, which would allow you to split your lecture segment if you found the recording was longer than anticipated. Audacity also can be used to smooth transitions between segmented clips, if edits result in choppy or rough transitions. 

Once you have established which of your peers’ suggested edits you would like to make to your recording, you may also benefit from exploring Audacity’s tutorial page for editing an existing file as a direct source from the software. Additionally, the tutorial below on how to record and edit a podcast in Audacity provides useful tips and tricks for editing an Audacity recording that was specifically created for a podcast, and may be helpful if you are a visual learner and would prefer demonstrations over reading Audacity’s tutorial manual.