A daily news podcast offers an intimate, convenient and often concise way for audiences to engage with the world around them. A growing number of publishers have launched these shows, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and many are attracting large daily audiences and building habit and loyalty.
However, there are still challenges for daily news, including the difficulty of monetising a show that is consumed on an on-demand basis without the benefit of advertising revenue. In this article, we explore the current state of daily news and look at how some of the best publishers are navigating these issues.
The New York Daily News, founded in 1919, is an American tabloid newspaper based in New York City that covers politics, crime, and business. The paper is famous for its headlines that are often shocking or inflammatory and for its extensive city news coverage, celebrity gossip, and classified ads. The paper was the first successful tabloid newspaper and is widely credited with creating the modern newspaper format.
In the United States, The Daily News is a leading source of local news and information. It is also known for its opinion pieces and editorials. The News’ staff has included notable writers, journalists, and politicians such as William F. Buckley, Lan Samantha Chang, John Hersey, Joseph Lieberman, Sargent Shriver, Garry Trudeau, and Calvin Trillin. The newspaper is distributed throughout the United States and can be found at most public libraries, colleges, and schools.
While most of our research focuses on the US, where we have seen the biggest growth in daily news podcasts, the genre is growing across Europe too. In the last year alone, our research reveals that the number of shows available has increased from 37 to 102. The increase is driven by new launches by both French and Danish public broadcasters, as well as significant investments by The Times and the Daily Mail in the UK, and News Corp in Australia.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to the length of a daily news podcast, with some choosing to focus on the personality of the host or use a range of voices, while others, such as microbulletins and some news rounds-ups, take a more functional, efficient delivery approach. In the latter case, hosts are less visible and music and other audio branding play a more significant role in establishing identity and signalling to audiences what kind of show they’re listening to.
DR has invested heavily in daily news, launching The Journal, a deep-dive show launched just over a year ago, as well as What’s News and other short-form offerings such as a minute-long microbulletin for smart speakers. Its content is produced by Wireless, part of the News UK group, which brings professional studios and journalistic expertise to the table alongside a strong commercial understanding of monetising and distribution for audio. This has paid off, with The Journal now the number one daily podcast in the country.