While many news media companies worldwide have attempted to duplicate the style — and the success — of The New York Times’s popular The Daily podcast, Göteborgs-Posten (GP) took an entirely different approach. Instead of trying to copy the success of another podcast, the Swedish daily newspaper created a podcast that amplified its individuality.

Using a talk show format, the 90-minute programme airs five days a week and reflects the laid-back, down-to-earth demeanour Gothenburg residents are known for.

Named Nyhetsshowen — live from the GP building, the podcast title makes it clear the programme is part of the GP newsroom. That was an important distinction as GP wanted listeners to know they would get information on breaking news stories from trusted journalists.

The talk show also follows up on news stories, while the newsroom often turns discussions and interviews from Nyhetsshowen into news articles.

The podcast studio sits squarely in the middle of the newsroom, which makes it easier to find synergies between the Web site, newspaper, and talk show. It also means the podcast hosts can easily pull a reporter into the programme to discuss a news story.

Although the news stories come from around the world, they are delivered with a perspective that appeals to Gothenburgians.

News with a smile

Louise Sköld Lindell, head of editorial development, said she wanted Nyhetsshowen “to be like listening to your smartest friends talking about the news.” Like all great conversations with friends, it is important, timely, funny, analytical, and entertaining — all at once.

To achieve that perfect balance, Nyhetsshowen has four alternating hosts who appear two at a time. All are trained professional journalists, but the special twist is that two of those journalists are also standup comedians specialising in humour that is distinctly Gothenburg. That helps the show deliver the news in a way that is topical and enjoyable, as well as feeling completely local.  

That tone is an important part of the GP brand; while it sounds natural and casual, it has been carefully cultivated and maintained. Carrying it through to an audio format required careful planning and expert execution.

Creating the right format

GP wanted Nyhetsshowen to appeal to an audience segment it wasn’t reaching with its daily newspaper — namely, women in their late 20s and early 30s. To do that, it chose to have a conversation about news rather than just reporting it, and unlike commercial Swedish radio programmes, there is no music and no small talk. It is less serious than the traditional morning news radio show, P1 morgon, but goes deeper than the young adult-oriented public service morning show Morgonpasset.

By finding the middle ground between those two programmes, Nyhetsshowen also found a following. Each day provides two in-depth news segments, one news overview, one guest, and a lighthearted ending.

This lighter and often humourous approach has proven successful, attracting listeners who previously weren’t interested in the news and capturing an audience that had escaped the traditional GP newspaper.

The results speak for themselves:

• Within two months of the programme’s premiere, it reached 3 million total streams.
• The average listening time on Anchor (Spotify) is 1:20:34, almost the entire show.
• 67% of listeners are women.
• 46% of listeners are 28 to 34 years old.
• Sponsorships for the first month of the show sold out in a few hours. Since then, GP has easily filled every sponsor slot.
• Nyhetsshowen is one of the first Swedish podcasts published on Spotify that offers a combination of audio and video.

Even more significantly, Nyhetsshowen has been a podcast recommendation in Svenska Dagbladet, the second biggest morning newspaper in Sweden, and Nyhetsmorgon, the largest morning TV show in Sweden.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the love we are receiving from listeners,” Lindell said. “It’s kind of an unfamiliar feeling when you’re working in the news industry.”

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