Daily Bee adds audio stories

SANDPOINT — You now have even more ways to get your local news.

Over the past few years, the Bonner County Daily Bee has expanded the ways it delivers the news as part of a continuing effort to put the best local journalism in the hands of its readers (and listeners).

From the traditional print edition to social media news feeds — and everything in-between — the Daily Bee offers a variety of options to bring the news to its readers, Daily Bee General Manager Bill Davis said.

Over the past year, products that the paper has added to its "editions" to better serve its community include a news app — 7B News — and a pair of podcasts — 7Bee with a focus on local news, people and stories; and North Idaho Now, with all the latest headlines and stories from throughout the region.

Now, joining that list — and allowing Daily Bee readers to take their news on the go — is the paper's new audio stories initiative.

"Our readers are busy and may not always have time to sit down to read their hometown newspaper to get the latest daily news and information," Davis said. "We wanted to change that. We wanted to give them the ability to take their news on the go."

That's where the audio initiative comes in, Davis said. Stories are converted from text to audio and uploaded to SoundCloud, a hosting platform for all things audio, from music to news.

Links to audio files are then incorporated into stories on the paper's website, bonnercountydailybee.com.

Listeners can listen to stories individually or create a playlist on SoundCloud of current and past stories and take their news with them as they go for a run, head to work or enjoy a fun day on the water or ski slopes, Davis said.