This is one of those news headlines with no news….
From Radio Ink:
New Survey Concludes: Family Values Control Radio Listening
In a nationwide survey persons ages 15-49, Hudson Media Research has discovered some surprising information about why listeners are tuning out radio stations. It’s not excessive commercial loads or too much talk. It’s the song lyrics and deejay topics.
HMR conducted the survey to determine what percentage of people listen to the radio with school-aged children present and to examine the listening behavior of those respondents when the children are in earshot of the radio.
Among the key findings:
The older the respondent the more likely they are to have children present while listening to the radio.
An average of 50% of all respondents surveyed say they have school-aged children present, on a regular basis, when they listen to the radio. Of those, 80% say their radio station choices are limited to stations that are “safe” to listen to with kids present.
My comments:
Where do I begin?
Where’s the news? Any responsible parent – and lots of them work in Radio – would answer these questions this way. It should come as no surprise that listenership among parents is affected by the presence of kids.
But consider this:
1. I do not believe that control of listening due to the presence of kids is anywhere near as widespread as noted here. In a society where the TV viewership of kids isn’t well monitored and video game choices and online usage are often free and unencumbered, no one can convince me that 80% of parents are exercising such extraordinary judgment when it comes to the Radio. This is a case of: “What’s the right way to answer this question such that I won’t look bad?”
2. Nobody ever said that everybody wanted to hear bawdy Radio or extreme lyrics. Our only claim is that some people do – and offering such programming is a valid way to stand out from those who don’t. It’s the zig you make while all the rest zag.
3. If parents don’t like to hear naughty lyrics, then who’s doing all the listening in drive time to CHR and Urban and Active Rock?
Research headlines are notoriously half-correct. And these are no exception.