Listening to NPR member stations is slipping among younger listeners. That's from new NPR data shared at the recent Public Radio Program Director's Conference (always a great event, by the way). The writeup in Current reports: Average–quarter-hour (AQH) listening during morning drive time has dropped 11 percent in the past five years, and afternoon drive audience has declined 6 percent. The only age bracket that has increased listening to NPR stations is the 65-plus audience [up 18% overall]. It appears the statistics referenced here are AQH persons. And that number is sensitive to … [Read more...]
Tag: prpd
10/07
Radio: What Happened to BIG?
A few weeks ago I was very pleased and flattered to be part of the opening presentation at the Public Radio Program Directors Conference in Portland. The PRPD is always one of my favorite events because every single person in the room is on a content- and service-based mission to make their communities and the lives of folks in them better. They are passionate about what they're doing. As one of the speakers said, "nobody here is getting rich doing this." The theme of all the opening presentations was the same: What's enduring about Public Radio, even in the face of dramatic … [Read more...]
10/09
Local Public Radio: What To Do…
...in a world where the networks you pay for content circumvent you by distributing much of that same content online? This is a complicated question, but it's one that branding authority Tom Asacker tackles with me in this highlight from our conversation at the recent Public Radio Program Director's conference in Las Vegas. Is it as simple as "more local news" because newspapers are folding (pun intended) all over America? Oh no it isn't. Not nearly. Watch (or click on the post title if there's no video image): [iframe … [Read more...]
10/03
Consumers Don’t Care about your Messages
There's a difference between giving people what they desire and messaging them to convince them that what you have is what they desire. That's one point from my friend, branding authority Tom Asacker, in the conversation we had on the stage of the recent Public Radio Program Director's conference in Las Vegas. Watch (or click on the post title if there's no video image): [iframe http://player.vimeo.com/video/50699714?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0 500 281] Prefer audio? Try this: [audio:http://blip.tv/file/get/Markramsey-ConsumersDontCareAboutYourMessage100.mp3] Download … [Read more...]
11/11
Is Radio a Content-Creator or a Distribution Channel?
Many readers know that one of my regular themes is the relationship between radio as content creator vs. radio as distribution channel. While radio retains massive reach there's no question that the attention enabled by that reach is fraying and dispersing. I'll share some statistics on this point in some later post, but for now suffice it to say that in a world of many meaningful alternatives to radio, attention is following choice - and ultimately advertising dollars will follow attention. So what are the consequences of this? When choice proliferates and consumers embrace those … [Read more...]
