NPR, APM and Vibenomics Make a Play for Audio at NewFronts

National Public Radio and American Public Media’s Marketplace each put their radio and podcast hosts front-and-center, selling reliable news and audience “trust” at a time when the high-stakes realities of the Covid-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests have subsumed the media ecosystem.

NewFronts newcomer Vibenomics, meanwhile, made the case for what it has trademarked as Audio Out-of-Home marketing: in-store music, messages and commercials that reach people as they shop.

Here’s what happened in audio Thursday:

NPR has its finger on the cultural pulse

After an introduction from John Lansing, president and CEO of NPR, Steve Inskeep and Noel King, who host the company’s flagship drive-time program Morning Edition and the podcast Up First, took the reins to talk about trust.