Big national news brands like NPR, ABC News and the New York Times have made the commitment to daily news podcasts. Now one of radio’s biggest news operations is doing the same. Hubbard Radio’s all-news WTOP-FM Washington (103.5) will launch a daily news podcast called DMV Download from WTOP News in April. As its name suggests, the podcast will feature local news from the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area, leveraging the reporting resources already in place at the station.
“Launching the DMV Download highlights WTOP’s continued focus on innovation with an investment in two accomplished and respected journalists excited to bring a fresh, local news podcast to life for the DC area,” said Craig Schwalb, WTOP Director of Content Integration and Operations, in the announcement.
The DMV Download will publish each weekend afternoon and will be hosted by WTOP investigative reporter Megan Cloherty and WTOP producer Luke Garrett. The show will go in-depth on one or two local news stories.
“In 20 minutes, we’ll offer listeners context on the day’s biggest stories, going past the headlines with our deep bench of sources and reporters,” said Cloherty. “In my mind, if we can wrap up your workday with dependable, interesting content about our community, we’ve done our job.”
Both hosts have podcast experience. Cloherty previously was the co-creator and host of the first season of WTOP’s award-winning podcast, 22 Hours: An American Nightmare. And Garrett currently hosts the weekly WTOP podcast series Is It Normal Yet? focused on the coronavirus pandemic.
“To have the opportunity to bring listeners into our newsroom and dive deep into stories through the DMV Download podcast is nothing short of an honor,” said Garrett. “If you’re talking about something with your friends or family, we’ll be talking about it in the podcast.”
WTOP last year launched a dedicated podcast app called PodcastDC that features all of the shows produced by the station as well as other shows created by podcasters in the region which it said can get lost in the big apps. PodcastDC was developed by 2060 Digital, Hubbard’s digital services agency.
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