NPR is discontinuing its efforts to blend national and local news in its podcast Consider This, less than two years after its launch. The show combined stories from NPR’s All Things Considered with news segments from 12 participating local stations in 10 markets.
NPR Spokesperson Isabel Lara stated that the localization aspect “didn’t prove sustainable.” Joel Sucherman, NPR VP of Audio Platform Strategy, elaborated that the workload and technology involved in localizing the podcast made it increasingly challenging.
According to Sucherman and Eric Marrapodi, VP of News Programming at NPR, the production process was not scalable and was “ripe for user error.” Adding to the complications, NPR plans to shift to Spotify-owned Megaphone for its podcasts, which does not support its current localization technology. Another significant point was that localized versions did not seem to engage the audience more than the national versions.
Despite the setback, NPR says they still see value in the idea of merging national and local content. They’re actively considering other sustainable ways to achieve this mix. Meanwhile, stations that participated in the localization project viewed it as a valuable experience that underscored the need for local news podcasts.
