For decades, the Irish Independent has been Ireland’s best-selling daily newspaper. Generations of Irish families have viewed the paper as a trusted source of news, information, and entertainment.

But with the media landscape changing at an often unpredictable pace, we saw a greater need to be where the audience is. They are no longer necessarily “readers.” They are no longer loyal to a single media brand. Many younger people do not feel a connection to what is considered traditional media. We needed to be trading on a future promise rather than a legacy.

A move into podcasting was the obvious choice, but it didn’t guarantee success. Ireland has a strong radio listenership, and our target audience also has the option of news podcasts from the wider English-speaking world.

We decided success could not be defined solely by chart position. The real gauges of success would be downloads, engagement, content, brand recognition, and sponsorship/advertising potential.

Reaching a new audience

The plan was simple: Build an audio brand that could turn existing readers into listeners and reach a new audience unlikely to ever buy a newspaper. While this was not a novel idea, our aim was to bring a uniquely Irish news offering.

Mediahuis Ireland decided to invest time and people to produce an audio offering that could become part of people’s day in the same way as the newspaper.

The principles remained the same. It is not just a question of reporting what has happened. The questions most regularly asked in our news conferences are: “But what does it mean? And how does it impact all our lives?” The podcast needed to be thought-provoking and challenging, entertaining and inspiring — and, when appropriate, bring a smile to Ireland’s face or a tear to her eye.

An audio team was assembled, combining a small number of external hires and redeployment within the newsroom. While the flagship podcast was to be The Indo Daily, the team would also have to work on more niche shows like The Big Tech Show, Real Health, and The Left Wing, a rugby podcast.

Much debate also took place about the name. The Irish Independent has always been colloquially known as “The Indo,” but the company has never used this name for promotional or branding purposes.

The podcast name had to be catchy and not be held back by legacy attitudes toward the formal title of the newspaper. And so, having initially been born as “InFocus,” it was changed to “The Indo Daily.” 

New format, new content

Deciding on the content was a learning curve.

We wanted to cover a diverse set of topics from national and international events to original investigative journalism. Mainly we wanted to not be the radio. The podcast would be short (20 minutes), sharp (well-edited) and informed (with the best journalists telling their own stories).

Our audience has a strong interest in crime,  human stories, and international news told through local eyes. Nostalgia has worked particularly well and resulted in some retired journalists coming back to talk about big stories they covered that our audience may have forgotten about or that a younger audience may never have heard about in the first place.

A small mix of senior editors and reporters were asked to be presenters, adding audio work to their normal output on a rotating basis. The fact journalists working on the podcast also have “day jobs” can be challenging. However, being on the ground and close to the stories means they can give genuine insight.

In 2023, The Indo Daily reached up to 160,000 listeners a week, well ahead of target, with a total of 6.6 million listens. Now, we look to maintain the momentum.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .