Neal Carruth has been working at NPR for 20 years and he is now Senior Director of On Demand News at the organisation.
Up First have been working to ensure that the podcast does not sound anything like a legacy radio programme. According to Neal, that means working on tone and content. The team has been innovating and experimenting since launch.
“We’re working incredibly hard” he said.
The promotion for the programme flows in two directions. The podcast is broadcast on radio, as part of the Morning Edition Programme. They have 28.5 million weekly on air listeners. But it also goes the other way. According to data, more than 40% of the Up First podcast audience have never listened to Morning Edition before. And everyone who listens to the podcast is regularly told about the existence of the radio show.
The show has a 12 hour production schedule. It is on air live at 5.07am and then it is “lightly produced” so it lands in the feed by 6am. By that time the audience is expecting the podcast to land. And, with 81% of the Up First audience saying they listen to the podcast every day, they really do expect it to be in their feed when they wake up.
“On the rare occasions that the podcast doesn't drop in the feed on time, we definitely hear from the audience” Neal said.