PAULINE'S PICKS: Minneapolis 'Star-Tribune' Creates Feature-Style Podcasts

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By: Pauline Millard I initially logged on to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune Web site to see what was new with the bridge collapse. On the right side of the page I noticed a little box that held a few podcasts and I decided to look into it.

There were several podcasts listed and they covered everything from local sports to gardening. My two favorites were Counter Itelligence, a podcast about local eating Minneaolis, and the very funny Withering Glance, in which the reporters sought to find fashionable men in downtown Minneapolis.

Each podcast is about five minutes long and easy to use. Listeners simply click on the box and the show starts. There's no complicated downloading or saving. The shows are also well edited and produced and have excellent sound quality.

In another time, maybe even just a few years ago, these types of stories would have been found in the features section of the paper, and maybe a few pages in. Thanks to the Web, readers can listen to the story in less time it would take to read it and the piece gets "front page" attention on the Web site.

Has your paper adjusted its features for the Web? I love to see it.

Here are some of my past Picks:

LATimes.com Launches Interactive Homicide Report

New York Papers Cover Fierce Storm and Tornado

Newspaper's Database Examines Safety of Hudson Valley Bridges

Alex Beam Acts Out Hate Mail on Boston.com Podcast

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