Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village DriveJake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS More middle-aged women being treated for acne You probably thought you broke up with it after high school, but acne is rearing it’s ugly blackheads in adult women.
Lee County student ran up and hit teacher in head, report shows The report says a 13-year-old student ran up and smacked a teacher in the head because multiple classmates offered him money to do so.
NAPLES Collier Planning Commission continues discussion for apartments near Fiddler’s Creek The developer of Fiddler’s Creek wants to build hundreds of luxury apartments on a slice of a 600 acre-plus property known as section 29.
CAPE CORAL Fatigue sets in for third day of FEMA hearings Flying several hours to come to a FEMA code compliance hearing in Cape Coral is the reality for John Gasparini from Maryland.
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS More middle-aged women being treated for acne You probably thought you broke up with it after high school, but acne is rearing it’s ugly blackheads in adult women.
Lee County student ran up and hit teacher in head, report shows The report says a 13-year-old student ran up and smacked a teacher in the head because multiple classmates offered him money to do so.
NAPLES Collier Planning Commission continues discussion for apartments near Fiddler’s Creek The developer of Fiddler’s Creek wants to build hundreds of luxury apartments on a slice of a 600 acre-plus property known as section 29.
CAPE CORAL Fatigue sets in for third day of FEMA hearings Flying several hours to come to a FEMA code compliance hearing in Cape Coral is the reality for John Gasparini from Maryland.
Spotify is making changes to its app for premium subscribers, including a simpler interface and more prominent placement of podcasts. A year ago, Spotify made an expensive bet, shelling out hundreds of millions of dollars to get into the podcast business. For a company that was still unprofitable, losing more than $200 million that year, it was a bold move. Then the coronavirus pandemic struck, and podcasting consumption immediately changed. Spotify noticed drop-offs in listeners tuning in via their cars and wearable devices — probably because they were no longer commuting into work. Meanwhile, listening time around activities like cooking, doing chores and family time suddenly surged. There was also an uptick in podcasts related to wellness and meditation. “It’s clear from our data that morning routines have changed significantly,” the company said in its first quarter earnings release. “Every day now looks like the weekend.” That sudden shift wasn’t something the company had anticipated — and it could have been worrying, but Spotify’s Chief Content and Advertising Business Officer Dawn Ostroff said the streaming service is getting even stronger in spite of the pandemic. “I think once things return to normal and people wind up commuting again, the habits that they’re forming now will stay with them,” Ostroff said. “It just allows for even more time for them to consume podcasts in different times and different ways.” In an interview with CNN Business’ Rachel Crane, Ostroff said Spotify users have been listening to podcasts later in the day than usual. They also are listening through more home devices such as televisions and gaming consoles. “What we’ve seen through the pandemic is that people are really sitting down and listening to podcasts in a group,” Ostroff said. “It’s been clear to us that there’s real opportunity in family consumption.” A bold bet Spotify made its commitment to podcasting known last year when it acquired podcast-creation app Anchor and production company Gimlet. In financial statements, the company acknowledged those purchases as a risk, saying there was no guarantee it could “generate sufficient revenue” to “offset the costs of acquiring” them. The company continued investing in podcasts in 2020, announcing in February that it was acquiring Bill Simmons’ The Ringer, which owns dozens of podcasts. Those pricey acquisitions are starting to pay off. About 19% of Spotify’s monthly active users listen to podcasts, up from 16% last quarter, the company reported as part of its first quarter earnings in April. Spotify said it reaches 286 million monthly active users, which translates to about 54.3 million podcast listeners. Apple has long been the dominant player in podcast consumption, but Spotify is rising in popularity among listeners. Ostroff said Spotify is “ahead of Apple” in more than 60 markets. Spotify pointed to data tracked by podcast technology firm Voxnest, showing that between January and May, Spotify’s podcasts were used more frequently than Apple podcasts in countries including Canada, Germany, France, Mexico and Spain, among others. “That’s pretty meaningful because we’ve only been in the game now for about two years,” Ostroff said. Podcasting in a pandemic Despite the pandemic changing people’s daily lives, podcast consumption continues to grow across the industry. Chartable CEO Dave Zohrob said his podcast analytics company saw a 20% drop in consumption in early March for podcasts using the platform. But that bottomed out by the end of March and is now trending upward. Jonathan Gill, CEO of analytics company Backtracks said his platform showed overall listening was up by 2.78% in March, compared to February. Anya Grundmann, NPR’s senior vice president of programming, told CNN Business that the nonprofit media company saw volatility in listening during the pandemic but also some new growth. NPR’s Coronavirus Daily podcast is its fastest growing podcast and podcasting overall is the “fastest moving growth line for NPR over the last five years,” she said. Podcasting “is more and more the way people are spending time, trying to educate themselves, trying to get smarter, trying to have companionship in a moment when people are alone,” Grundmann added. ‘Not just a side-show anymore’ For Spotify, the industry’s growth is great news. The company continues to make big investments in podcasting. Last month, it signed one of the world’s most popular podcasts, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” for a multi-year exclusive licensing deal. The Wall Street Journal reported the deal was worth more than $100 million. “We felt like we need to have the number one podcaster on our platform in order to really be a winner in this medium,” Ostroff said. “It doesn’t feel like a risk to us because [Rogan] is such an important player in this space.” Marty Moe, president of Vox Media Studios, told CNN Business the company’s podcast “consumption from Spotify has increased.” Vox Media has more than 200 active shows in its podcast network. Spotify’s investment “validates what we’ve known for years,” Moe said. “This is a medium that’s not just a side-show anymore.” Ostroff said Spotify is seeing a rise in podcast creation, saying that 150,000 new podcasts were made in March compared to February. “Maybe we’ll have some of those podcast producers stay on and continue to make content even after life resumes and we go back to somewhat of a normal existence,” Ostroff said.