Easy way to customize NPR podcasts

By on January 12th, 2009 In Social Media

If you listen to podcasts, and always like to get back to an NPR story you heard or missed, there’s an easy way to subscribe to a feed.

NPR offers a way to customize your selection here at the Podcast Directory. You give your custom feed a title, then use a few key words to brings up relevant shows. It then provides a link to iTunes or Zune (or a URL to copy whatever podcast reader you use).

Of course you could just go to iTunes and choose from some 107 podcasts, but I prefer the custom way, as it pulls the ones I like into one feed.

Comments

Sam Says:
January 12th, 2009 at 2:39 pm

Using the podcasts to refer back to a story is a great idea, but using them as a “first source” could greatly damage the viability of local NPR affiliates (KJZZ here in Phoenix).

For example, listening to Marketplace via their podcast and not on terrestrial radio diminishes the relevance of a regional station, cutting of local funding which in turn could cut off national programming. Yes, even radio can fall victim to globalization…

Luanne Mattson Says:
January 13th, 2009 at 8:40 am

Yes, Sam, local radio can fall victim to globalization, but they can also fall victim to busy schedules, etc. I subscribe to a lot of NPR podcasts, but I also still like to listen to KJZZ whenever I can. Especially helpful to me when I have time to listen is Here & Now on Wednesdays. They do a nice job of highlighting local issues.

Angelo Fernando Says:
January 13th, 2009 at 9:44 am

I don’t think KJZZ’s accepting the fact that people DO like to time-shift will damage their relevance –or viability. These are still early days in how the news media will use New media. This learning curve will probably help them understand the metrics as to what people like most, what channels -like iTunes etc– they use to access content, and even how to package stories. I for one will like to grab different local podcasts in one feed. Heck, maybe I may even agree to ‘pay’ for this, whether it is during a fund drive or some other way.

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