How to Run a Daily Podcast

I love dailies. Most communicators don’t, and for good reason. They don’t have time to find news to report each day, much less produce a podcast that plays every weekday morning at 5 a.m.

The College of American Pathologists is showing us the way.

“We wanted to provide our members and customers with news and information about pathology and laboratory medicine that they can’t get somewhere else,” said Nancy Johnson, the CAP’s director of brand journalism and storytelling. “And even if they could get it somewhere else, it wouldn’t showcase the expertise of our members.”

That sums up the philosophy behind the PATH News Network, which is just beginning to reach the CAP’s 18,000 board-certified pathologists and lab staff after more than six months of planning, training and fine-tuning.

We’ve had an inside view of this project from its beginnings. Ragan Consulting Group is working with the CAP communications team and has embedded two of our consultants into the fast-paced editorial flow.

“At first, a pathology podcast seemed a little ’niche’ to me, but I realized quickly that the stories and sound we could deliver from this branch of medicine apply to so many areas of our lives and health,” said Elizabeth McMahon, one of the RCG consultants working on the project. “The CAP podcast has been a great way to dig into the science, research, programs, and most importantly, the people, behind the microscopes.” 

There’s lots to do to produce a daily podcast: finding news, inside or outside the organization; interviewing subject matter experts (and capturing sound for the newscasts); writing and editing scripts; recording and editing the final product; and posting it for members on the PATH News Network portal.

We have nine tips for creating, reporting and running a daily news podcast.

1. Make it newsy. Sounds obvious, but this is easier said than done. The CAP team isn’t just recycling press releases and marketing messages. They team is reporting on real news in pathology and laboratory science (there’s plenty), while also looking for newsy angles about CAP members and the organization’s advocacy and foundation work.

2. Keep it short and post early. It’s a daily. And the beauty of the podcast medium is that your audience can listen while they’re getting dressed, eating breakfast or commuting to work. The CAP’s podcasts are available each morning, Monday through Friday, at 5 a.m. Each newscast has four stories. Total running time: five to seven minutes.  

3. Editorial plan. The team meets weekly on Thursdays to talk about the upcoming week’s stories. The reporters might trade stories to get a better mix and pass along interviews they’ve done that can be used in other stories. Scripts are due for editing the day before they post. Once edited and approved, the reporters record the newscast and pass it on to the digital editor, who adds the sound elements that give the show its structure.

4. Find the experts. “We try to develop sources among the experts who can explain stuff and build a trusting relationship with them,” says Nick Lanyi, the other RCG consultant working on the newscast. “It’s a two-way street: If they trust that you understand the nuances and care about accuracy, they’ll invest their time to help you tell a better story.”

5. Use sound with a bite. As with writing stories, you’re looking for some good quotes to add spice to the news you’re reporting. The reporters record their interviews with the experts and then select the best quotes to embed into their stories.

Some of those sound bites even make it into the show’s intro. Here’s the March 9, 2026, newscast from Nancy Johnson.

6. Tease the stories with your intro. Like a headline in a written piece, you’ve got a few seconds to entice the audience to stick with you. The intros to the CAP podcasts must do the same. Check out the April 2 episode from Nick Lanyi, who was executive editor of the financial journalist Louis Rukeyser’s newsletters.

7. Use your voice as a storytelling tool. We spent time in the early going working on voice inflection. The right pause between stories avoids confusion. “Even with a sophisticated audience, you’ve got to write simple, straightforward copy,” Lanyi said. “They’re listening, not reading. They can’t easily go back and re-read like they could with a written piece.”

McMahon, who formerly worked for public radio and the National Institutes of Health, added: “It’s been a minute since my NPR days, so the CAP podcast has been a wonderful way to combine my experience in broadcast and science communications. The podcast platform is very user friendly, making it easy to get the CAP’s stories ’on the air.’”

8. Give them links. The podcasts include links in the Show Notes for listeners who’d like to dig deeper or take an action, like registering for an event.

9. Find a good story mix. “There’s always news to report from the CAP,” McMahon said. “But I also like keeping these podcasts lively with pathology-related science news and fresh findings from the field.”

McMahon also likes to add the occasional quirky but relevant story to the end of a newscast. In a November 2025 episode, she reports on the low cancer rates of bowhead whales, who live about 200 years, and what that can teach researchers about DNA repair mechanisms.

You probably won’t hear that story on any other podcast.

Jim Ylisela, senior partner with Ragan Consulting Group, now knows more about tissue samples and sepsis testing than he ever imagined he would. Every organization makes news. We’ll help you get yours out, in whatever medium you use. Does your employee newsletter need a refresh? Email Jim to set up a free call.

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