Audacy has announced it will launch a new centralized digital team dedicated to news.
The company will add over 50 journalists in eight unspecified newsrooms “to produce an array of fresh audio and local reporting that will be distributed across the Audacy network.” The digital news team will also launch longform podcasts from the local news brands, an national weekly podcast highlighting the most pressing story of the week utilizing content from their stations, and custom newsletters and in-app content.
Audacy announced a multiplatform transformation for its news brands that will allow the company to offer more original digital news content as well as in-depth reporting to complement breaking news broadcast coverage.
As part of the transformation, Audacy will launch a new centralized digital team dedicated to news and add over 50 journalists in eight of its newsrooms across the country. This coordinated, multi-platform focus will allow the company to produce an array of fresh audio and local reporting that will be distributed across the Audacy network. The new resources will enable the creation of original podcasts and other specialty digital content that will add to the body of trusted local reporting that Audacy news and news/talk brands deliver to millions of listeners daily.
“The past year has underscored the crucial role of journalism and the demand for trusted quality content has never been higher,” said Jeff Sottolano, Executive Vice President of Programming, Audacy. “Audacy’s local news brands have been delivering on-demand news and information for decades and are now poised to build on that foundation. While other news organizations are downsizing, this further investment will allow us to leverage the credibility of our news brands to expand our reach and engagement while continuing to deliver the premier coverage our audience is accustomed to and relies on.”
The multiplatform transformation will also see the launch of original longform podcasts from local news brands; an original national weekly podcast that highlights the most pressing story of the week and draws on reporting and interview content from across the Audacy network of news brands; daily in-depth podcasts and on-demand audio that explore local stories and issues that most affect listeners’ lives; as well as custom newsletters and in-app experiences that offer audiences a chance to explore areas of interest and interact directly with Audacy brands. Additional details will follow in the coming months.
Audacy is the No.1 local news platform in the country, operating more than two dozen news stations across the U.S. Its award-winning news portfolio reaches over 16-million listeners monthly via broadcast, digital and connected devices and delivers the highest weekly reach of all-news listeners in 26 markets nationwide. Audacy’s news brands are honored year after year with major awards from the RTNDA and the NAB.
