Get an Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant this holiday? How to listen to Detroit Free Press

Kayla Cockrel, Detroit Free Press
·2 min read

A Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa smart speaker device is a popular gift each holiday season. There’s a lot these assistants can do for you around your home, but you have to know what they can do in order to ask.

Did you know you can use these devices to listen to the top stories from the Detroit Free Press?

Just enable the Detroit Free Press flash briefing skill for Alexa and say "Alexa, play my flash briefing," or say “OK Google, play me Detroit Free Press” and you'll hear a mix of news, sports and other stories right from our newsroom.

For more variety, say "OK Google, play the news" and instead you'll hear your own custom mix of news stories from a variety of sources including the Free Press.

To make sure the Free Press is in your mix, follow these steps:

Google Assistant

  1. Go to the Google Assistant.

  2. Select your profile.

  3. Select "news," then "add shows," then "local."

  4. Find “Detroit Free Press” in the list.

  5. Tap the star.

The briefing works on Google Home, Android phones and the Google Assistant app for iPhones.

Amazon Alexa

To add us to your daily Flash Briefing through Amazon's Alexa, just say "Alexa, enable Detroit Free Press skill" or "Alexa, enable Detroit Free Press Flash Briefing." You also can follow these steps:

  1. Go to the Amazon Alexa app.

  2. Go to "settings."

  3. Tap "news."

  4. Tap "flash briefing."

  5. Enable the Detroit Free Press.

  6. Say, "Alexa, play my flash briefing."

If you don't have an Amazon smart speaker, you can download the Alexa app for your iPhone or Android and listen that way. Just use the same voice commands.

All Free Press podcasts

You can also listen to any Detroit Free Press podcast on your smart speaker or favorite podcast app, or at freep.com/podcasts. Just say "OK Google, play ..." or "Alexa, play ..." and play the name of the podcast.

  • On The Line: News and voices from Detroit, hosted by Cary Junior II. Every Friday.

  • Free Press Sports with Carlos and Shawn: Our flagship sports program, hosted by Carlos Monarrez and Shawn Windsor. Every Thursday.

  • The Pistons Pulse: Your go-to Detroit Pistons podcast, hosted by Omari Sankofa II and Bryce Simon. Every Tuesday.

  • Road to the Victors: The Story of the 1997 Michigan Wolverines. A limited-run series, hosted by Andrew Hammond.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Free Press audio news briefing: How to listen