Similar topics, different approaches for two of the best podcasts
Third Coast Festival, an audio story-telling festival, tweeted out a poll to its followers asking which morning news podcast they liked best. 64.5% voted for The Daily from the NY Times, leaving only 35.5% for NPR’s Up First. Up First is a much quicker listen, usually only ranging about 15 minutes or shorter and offers three stories you need to know for your day. The Daily runs longer, around 30 minutes. The Daily also covers one subject in depth, more like a newspaper story or a feature.
The deeper Daily
The Daily is praised for offering a much deeper story rather than running down a list of topics they need to cover. If you’re looking to get invested in meaningful and rich story-telling and seek to get a good understanding of a subject, The Daily is for you. The Daily wants listeners to feel the impact of the story and often plays on emotion to guide the listener to an idea. Some may see this as a fault of The Daily, that the podcast manipulates the listener to believe their side of the story through the use of emotion. The Daily has a single host, Michael Barbaro so each day there is one main voice delivering the story. Which can be good for continuity and connection to listeners.
A broader Up First
Up First offers “the news you need to start your day”. Compared to The Daily, Up First gives listeners summaries and analyses of three breaking news stories, rather than one in-depth, contextual story. Up First is hosted by four people on the weekdays and by three on Saturdays, which allows for a diversity of sounds, story-telling and takes. Up First relies on the sound of NPR rather than a single individual. Up First also tends to focus on giving readers insight on stories and news that will have lasting impacts on daily life, taking care to not just cover a story that has run its course.
Which is the best podcast for you?
If you fancy a more in depth, emotional story with context and insight into the reporting process, go for The Daily. If you’re more keen on a quicker, straight to the point news breakdown, Up First can give you that and more. Whichever podcast you choose, both are fantastic options to keep you informed on the global and national happenings of today.
Questions about podcasts to discuss on Ohlelo:
- Which sources do you prefer to get your news from – newspapers, social media, online outlets?
- What do you wish to gain from a news podcast? What is essential to your needs?
- How do morning news podcasts fit into your daily routine?
Check out this article from Nieman Lab and this article from Indiewire for more information, and head on over to our Podcasts homepage for everything about podcasts!
