A generation ago, the idea of three journalists booking a nationwide tour to talk about current affairs to sell out crowds would have been ridiculous.
However, we live in strange times and so it was that four members of the Democracy team were part of a 2,500 crowd watching The News Agents Live! At Bridgewater Hall in Manchester in late February.
This hit podcast – featuring Jon Sopel, Emily Maitlis and Lewis Goodall – has been mixing hard news reporting, feature interviews and opinion for more than two years and is one of the most listened to shows in the UK, with 350,000 streaming it monthly.
The crowd in Bridgewater Hall were as passionate as they would have been for a favourite band or singer as the trio took to the stage and uttered their catchphrase intro ‘It’s Jon… it’s Emily… it’s Lewis… welcome to The News Agents’ to whoops and cheers.
As the number of news avoiders grows and legacy publishers and outlets struggle to keep their heads above water financially, this new way of bringing news to the public is clearly winning as it redefines how we engage with politics and current events.
The live show faithfully captured the podcast’s dynamic and humour, with the on-stage chemistry between the hosts every bit as natural in the flesh.
As they chatted through the big stories of the moment – Ukraine, Trump and the German elections – it was time to reflect that this format of honest and opinion driven conversations is what is shaping today’s media landscape.
The News Agents and similar shows such as The Rest Is Politics, The Guardian’s Weekly Politics and the Daily Telegraph’s ‘Daily T’ show are all pulling in huge audiences from Gen Zers through to retired people.
UK weekly podcast listeners spend an average of five hours and 27 minutes listening to podcasts in a typical week.
This is huge and these listeners are not passive either. It was incredible to see such an engaged and passionate sell-out crowd in Manchester treat the News Agents trio of hosts like news rock stars. Yes, there was even a merch stand in the foyer to complete the impression you were at a gig.
With the cheapest seats for this show being £35, it was a crowd who were fully invested and the second half was given over to an audience Q&A where Jon, Emily and Lewis could have answered questions all night if they’d had the time.
For those who doubt that news has a future, the News Agents live tour is proof that there are huge numbers of people passionate about current affairs. Led by charismatic front people, the style of informing and opinionating at the same time is what’s getting the country talking.
These are the new newsmakers, reinventing formats and going to where the audiences are in this fragmented media world.
To read more about the role of podcasts in the modern media news mix, download Democracy’s latest Insights Report here