Newspapers in drivetime
Somewhere recently I read a short item in which Robert Siegel said that every time he saw a photo of a long traffic jam on the interstate, he silently gave thanks for conditions that trapped all those people in cars where all they could do was listen to the radio.
What if they could listen to the newspaper, instead?
Particularly from our vantage point here in California, the idea of reaching people during commute time is mighty attractive. All our papers are honing production cycles and tuning distribution systems to get the paper on doorsteps by 5:30 or even 5:00 am. (Watch them closely or they’ll also want to push back deadlines, as if papers with late scores are a real win …)
So what if they could subscribe to a podcast that iTunes automatically downloaded to the home computer sometime overnight? (I already get a couple of newspaper columnist podcasts delivered this way; it's trivially easy). You could then transfer it to an iPod while the coffee brewed and then listen on the drive to work, couldn't you?
It would be great if we could produce a couple of versions – maybe one for a 20-minute drive, and another for a half-hour. I wonder how staff time it would take to produce something like this? Maybe a radio station that doesn't normally do much drivetime news would be interested in partnering, or a college class of some kind ...
Has anybody tried anything like this?
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It certainly would have possibilities with mass transit as well. Maybe one-fifth of Metro riders in DC already are listening to SOMETHING -- music mostly but also speeches, radio news, etc.
ReplyDeleteWe're working on ideas for a page 2 index and are talking about thinking news podcast as well as newspaper summary. Our biggest challenge is in finding ways to write for broadcast (audio, podcast); it's easier to figure out how to get the podcasts recorded. I've listened to a couple of summaries being done by newspapers, and they're not all that good from a listener's standpoint. There's a very funny one at roanoke.com that's being done as video. I wonder if we should be thinking immediately in terms of video with an audio-only option -- much more of a leap, but also more where we're headed.
ReplyDeleteHere in Modesto, I've done podcast recordings of a couple of recent columns I wrote. And for Christmas weekend, we had a reporter record Clement Moore's "Visit from St. Nicholas" and a few of us did a recording of the nativity story from the Gospel of Luke. Those were our first attempts at podcasting.
ReplyDeleteNow that I've figured this posting business out, let me add:
ReplyDeleteMelanie's right, that what's written in newspaper style doesn't always make for scintillating listening. I did a fair amount of writing for the broadcast wires and have some broadcast writing tips stashed in files somewhere at home. If anyone would like me to share, I'll dig 'em up.
Will -- I haven't heard the Oly podcast yet because users here in the corporate office can't access mp3 files, either. I was supposed to get unblocked, but it hasn't happened yet. Not enough clout with IT, I guess.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I subscribed on iTunes and it listed the Daily Jay okay but won't download it. I can usually get iTunes podcasts (for instance, BeatNonStop, Sacramento's pop music podcast) but not this one. maybe it's the same mp3 issue ...
If I do a wine-related podcast for commuters, would that count as drinking and driving?
ReplyDeleteJust kidding.
Will, to close the loop: I downloded The Daily Jay at hometonightand of course it worked fine.
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Joe -- At the Anchorage Daily News, we used to think of the Alaska Public Radio Network as a secret source of great reporters. Three or four top reporters at the paper started in radio. We weren't doing audio in those days, of course, but I simply found that good radio reporters often make good newspaper reporters -- much, much more likely than TV reporters.
ReplyDelete