Car Talk Regrets

The Story Ended Happily

John Dankosky's Blog about Tom Magliozzi (Why Everyone Who Loves Public Radio Should Thank Tom Magliozzi) reminds of the time I decided to take Car Talk off the air. We had a classical music audience. The phone calls about the show were hostile...vehement. Based on those calls and the urging of the station manager I pulled the plug. It was a big mistake. I learned a lesson about programming by phone call. The caller represents his or her interest...nothing more. Audience figures over the next six months convinced me I made a mistake. Our Saturday morning audience went to our public radio competitors. Fund raising took a big hit. Within a year Car Talk was back. The program was welcomed back in a big way with a huge audience and blockbuster fundraising as described by John in his blog posting. I've been told the audience for Car Talk continues to be strong.

Community of Listeners

Reinstating Car Talk was the the impetus for the gathering of the public radio community. That community is one of the key concepts of the Audience '98 research project.

                  A Sense of Community

If givers think of public radio as a community, then a fund drive is a barn raising, not the Home Shopping Network. On-air pitching is passing the hat, not selling Beanie Babies. Shirts and mugs – still the most popular premiums – are emblems of membership and pride in the community, not merchandise exchanged for cash.

"Sense of community" may add dimension to the seminal concept of personal importance, and thereby help public radio professionals to influence giving, focus fundraising messages, and schedule programming. 

Communication technologies let us choose our neighbors based on their sympathies rather than their proximities. Being connected to other people by psychological rather than geographical space isn't so alien anymore.

Audience loyalty and support grew by leaps and bounds after Car Talk found a permanent place on WNPR's schedule on Saturday Morning. It was as if we had crossed a threshold of Core Listening. A solid base of support resulted. Radio at Connecticut Public Broadcasting became self sustaining.

If that sense of community disappears...Public Radio will become a memory.