• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, March 5, 2025

News podcast listeners are better educated than the average person, judging by The Podcast Landscape, a study by NPR.  

Of those polled, 43% have a four-year degree or higher, compared to 35% of the general population. And they are more likely to have a two-year degree or post-graduate education.  

They also earn more—an average of $73,000 per year, compared $69,250 for the total population. In addition, 36% earn more than $75.000, versus 32% of all consumers.  

One might infer that these listeners are more discerning. For instance some have stopped listening to podcasts that were a part of their routine for these reasons:

• Lost interest in the show—27%
• Lost interest in the topic—26% 
• Too many ads, in general—20%
• Repetitive or stale content—20%
• Found a better podcast on the same topic—17% 
• No longer available for free—15% 
• Too many ads for products I’m not interested in—13% 
• Change in host or talent—12% 
• Show stopped publishing—11%

Non-news listeners gave up on some podcasts for much the same reasons, but in lower percentages. 

The biggest gaps with news followers were in these categories: 

• Too many ads in general—14%
• Repetitive or stale content—14% 
• Found a better podcast on the same topic—9%

Mind you, this survey was conducted in June 2024 and is now being publicized in NiemanLab. Some of these findings might be different this year. 

Of those surveyed, virtually all have listened to a news podcast in the prior 30 days. The totals are as follows: 

• News—100% 
• Political talk—53%
• Comedy—39% 
• Sports—36% 
• History—32% 
• True crime—30%

Among non-news podcast users, 34% listened to comedy and 28% to true crime. These were the leading genres for the non-news group.  

The biggest benefits identified by weekly news podcast listeners are:

• Listen to discussions on topics of interest—93% 
• Get news or political analysis—84%
• Something to listen to in the car or while traveling—75%
• Get business news and information—74% 
• Something to listen to while walking or exercising—71%

Steady listeners can perhaps feel smug about their intelligent choices. Only 45% of non-news listeners tune in to get news or political analysis, and 44% to get business news and information.  

Where do people listen to podcasts? The most used services were YouTube (44%), Spotify (17%), Apple Podcasts 99%) and Other (30%). 

NPR worked with Signal Hill Insights to field an online study of 5071 Americans. Of those, 793 had consumed a news podcast in the prior month.