Newspaper-affiliated sites have offered streaming audio for a long time, so it’s not surprising to see a few publishers move into podcasting. The experiments are exciting and noteworthy because the early adaptors have expanded beyond “newspaper stuff” –-headlines and news articles.
Podcasting allows for a different kind of convergence. Some pioneers are sharing the best local music (Ventura County Star), discussing culinary delights (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) and talking about video games (Columbus Dispatch). News, sports and business articles get their place, too, particularly in The Denver Post’s recently launched podcast.
The mix of programming tells us publishers recognize that news is just one course of their audience’s online diet. It’ll take much more than headlines to keep them engaged, loyal and open to new forms of content. As the demand for portable, on-demand entertainment continues, the introduction of podcasts positions newspapers among the swirl of choices from independent and traditional media companies.
Sometimes convergence means more work, as podcasting is more like creating a radio show than just dumping content.
NAA’s New Media Federation collected a sampling of podcasts from U.S. newspapers. The spreadsheet provides the name of the publication, URL, contact information and a brief description. Want to be included, fellow Chasers? Send those details to Rob Runett and you’ll be there.
