New York Times launches daily podcast show

Best known for its print coverage, The New York Times is this week broadening into the realm of daily audio news by launching a brand new podcast.

"The Daily," a 15-20 minute audio offering, will launch Wednesday and be available to listeners through the newspaper's website and mobile apps.

The show will cover a range of topics from hard news to other topics "highlighting culturally relevant news of the day," the newspaper said.

Host will be Michael Barbaro, who covered the 2016 US election and who will also share context, analysis and thoughts with Times readers by text message.

The move sees the newspaper try to hold its own in a competitive news market where demand for coverage spiked during and since last year's election that ended in a shock victory for President Donald Trump.

Last week The Washington Post launched the podcast "Can He Do That?" to assess the Trump's presidency, currently top in the US podcast charts. The Wall Street Journal also offers readers a variety of podcasts.

"Our readers have always turned to us first thing in the morning to help them understand the world," said Dean Baquet, executive editor of the Times.

"Now, with our new audio report, we're able to explain the news in a whole new way," he added.

Last year the Times launched four new podcasts -- "The Run-Up," a politics show also hosted by Barbaro, "Modern Love," "Still Processing" and "Tell Me Something I Don't Know."