To Make The News More Accessible For Everyone

My name is Brett Spangler, and I’m the creator and host of the Quick News Daily Podcast. Through the show, I try to help anyone who wants to save time and learn why the top news stories matter to their life.

The show tries to make the news more accessible for everyone. I’m here to help inform the single parent with two jobs, or the college student who also works full-time, or any other person who feels too busy or overwhelmed/under-served by the regular news.

I made the show because I was tired of the media giving weight to “both sides” when there were clear rights and wrongs in terms of morals, ethics, empathy, decency, and compassion. I had also gotten into listening to podcasts and always thought I might like to try one. With the lockdowns, I finally had the time and was out of excuses.

I based the show loosely on “The Daily” from the New York Times. However, I wanted to cover all top stories of the day instead of a deep dive on one topic, and I only wanted it to be news that matters to everyday people instead of pure clickbait stories that our news loves to cover. Lastly, I wanted it to be informal, explained in simple terms, delivered by someone outside the media, and slightly geared toward college-age listeners like myself. It’s real news for real people who might not have time to listen to regular news but still want to be informed.

I started big and went with a 30+ minute show, so I recorded and edited over a 4-day weekend.

I release episodes daily, which was definitely more work than I anticipated. Research and recording go smoothly, it’s the editing that takes 1.5 to 2 hours a day. I’m fortunate enough that between school shifting online and then summer break, I’ve been able to focus on podcasting. For funding, I’ve tried to build a contribution base, as well as seeking sponsors.

While I hope that someday this can be a sustainable career, I really believe in my mission to change the news media and bring that industry into the 21st century. My listeners have definitely made the experience gratifying; it’s always a great feeling when the show gets positive feedback from unlikely sources.

I found my first sponsorship just by chance by seeing their profile on social media. Then I used another platform that connects sponsors with podcasts, and that’s mainly where I look nowadays. Both of these were available for small podcasts, so it was a good place to start.

For now, I’ve made the choice to do the shows solo with no guests. I wanted to be different than the typical model, and I felt that being the only voice would let me get through a lot of news stories more quickly (but I’m always open to adapting if I think this gets stale).

I do research for the show by gathering the stories I see repeated most frequently, then I write the script before recording and editing. Podbean is my host platform, and I only use Audacity for recording and editing.

I try to make consistent content for social media, specifically Instagram and Twitter. I also try to find sites that will feature the show for free, but I have used paid advertising in the past. Advertising on podcast-specific platforms (i.e. Overcast) is by far the most effective, but just simply listing your show on as many sites as possible is crucial.

I would advise all new podcasters to make sure their content is good first. It’s cliché, but I spent too much time trying to market a product that wasn’t as polished as it could have been because I was so focused on making it to the New & Noteworthy on Apple Podcasts, but it’s really hard to get there if you don’t have an existing following.

Also, editing takes a lot longer than you think, so start by planning a lot of time for that process.

You can find all my info and content at my website, quicknewsdaily.com.

linktr.ee/quicknews