Accessing NPR's Programs Beyond the Radio

Steve Adubato goes One-on-One with Ha-Hoa Hamano, Senior Product Manager of Platforms at National Public Radio (NPR), from the Amazon Alexa VOICE Summit at NJIT, who shares new ways you can access NPR's programs on everything from your refrigerator to your watch.

9/26/18 #2168

Excerpt:

"Hi, this is Steve Adubato coming to you from the campus of NJIT - that's the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Why are we here? This is, in fact, the Voice Summit, sponsored by Amazon Alexa. You've got about 2,500 folks from all over the country, programmers, people involved in something called artificial intelligence, all about voice. What does voice mean in our lives today? What could, and what will, voice mean in our lives tomorrow? That's what the people are here talking about at NJIT, at this Voice Summit. We'll be interviewing those folks and bringing everything you've ever wanted and needed to know about voice to you right now. We're joined by Ha-Hoa Hamano, who is Senior Product Manager, Platforms, at NPR, otherwise known as? National Public Radio. What a great operation. By the way, our brothers and sisters at NPR, we are proud to be on the public television side. Now I know on our side, we think a lot about voice, we think a lot about what's going on at a conference like this. What are you doing over at NPR? It was a very natural fit for us to get our content, I think, out on the voice platforms as they were when they were coming out on the shows and the podcasts, but I think, as we're thinking about the way it's evolved, we're trying to repackage it in a way that makes a lot more sense to people in their homes. Example? Break it down. In the morning, you know, we have the new... first podcast. That's something that's going to break it down for you in ten minutes. A little bit longer than, kind of, the three minute briefing that was there when the device was first launched. And so some people want that fuller story, a little bit more context, a little more background. Some people don't have that time, and so they just want that three minute update in the morning. And so we think about those types of packaging and storytelling throughout the day. As well in the evening. If you want to just, kind of, lean back and enjoy a little less news, we'll play different kinds of podcasts and other stories for you. So... But... it's interesting, at a conference like this, are you...? By the way, are you speaking at the conference? I am. Tomorrow. On the subject of? How we innovate, and how we think about these problems, and how we're going to think about doing more experiences in the future. Is a lot of it based on research? Meaning... I know at... in public television, we're constantly doing research. Our teams are asking those who are supporters of public broadcasting, and those who..."