Three numbers. The first: 59% of people in the United States, where podcasts are widespread, say they listen to them because they help better understand complex issues. The second: 57% of millennials and Generation Z in Italy say they trust podcasts more than traditional media. And then, a third number: for 47% of Italians who are passionate about audio this is an excellent tool “to entertain themselves while doing other things”. Three percentages that tell us how much we are changing. The world of information is immersed in this evolution, so La Stampa with the new site is now online opens a section dedicated to audio. What drives us: the stories, the voices of the big names, our insights.
Digital First, La Stampa online changes its appearance: big names, more readable texts and space for podcasts
MARIANNA BRUSCHI
Let’s start with the news. For our readers we have thought of an audio schedule. Every day there will be a column edited by our signatures. It is a starting point, the offer will expand to grow together, exploring the interests of those who read, watch and, from today, listen to us. Let’s start with “La vita com’è” by Andrea Malaguti. The voice of the deputy director of the Press will accompany us every Wednesday to tell stories that investigate the depths of human lives, starting from a word. Thursday will be the day of crime, one of the most listened to genres on all audio platforms. «Criminal instinct» by Lodovico Poletto leaves tomorrow. On Friday you will be able to listen to Giulia Zonca’s “A lost time”, let yourself be accompanied by her suggestions, a film, a rapper, a competition. Worlds, ideas. The week starts again with Francesca Sforza and «L’edicola vagante» to go hunting for stories from abroad, which don’t always reach our ears. On Tuesday the voice of Niccolò Zancan will accompany us in the squares of the small and large Italian towns.
Podcasts are a challenge to try and reach a younger audience. According to the data: according to the latest Nielsen report for Audible, 75% of respondents in the 18 to 24 age bracket listen to podcasts, as well as 69% between 24 and 34 years of age. For them they represent the right mix between information and entertainment, with the desire to create a community around the authors of content. For a few months our readers have become accustomed to audio articles. Professional speakers read a selection of articles including editorials, reports, interviews. It is a mode that they like and for this reason many more will come.
A podcast treasure trove will be available in the new section, a precious archive that we will enrich day after day. The first series will be Vlora, to reconstruct the history of the ship that landed in Bari from Albania 30 years ago. To this will be added many series made by Gedi Visual, from Impostori to Vermicino, Italy, then the reportage Moby Prince, and again Erasmus Love and Quarantine Island.