Public Radio Utopia

Location Matters

In real estate...it's all about location, location, location. The same may be true for public radio. There are markets with high concentrations of really smart people where it can all come together for public radio. Stations that air and create content that appeals to the values and lifestyles of their listeners manage to garner a sizable audience. That's a long way from the days of declaring, we have a small but loyal audience.

Public Media Audience is Smart

The most significant cohort for public radio is education. Educated, intelligent people seek out and use the content on public radio and other platforms. The educational cohort was one of the most significant findings of Audience 98. The application of VALS research confirmed that the public radio audience is served by programming that informs and entertains educated listeners. Seven-in- 10 have advanced degrees, and virtually all have graduated from college. Along with a good education comes the opportunity for increased income.

Location does not preclude good programming practices and attention to content creation that consistently appeals to the audience. All elements must come together to create success. The idea that you can put just anything on the air and the audience will come is so '70's.  Audience 98 put it this way...

The appeal of a program is inseparable from those who listen. The program creates the audience, and the characteristics of that audience define the program’s appeal. Programs that serve very similar audiences – i.e., programs with highly congruent appeals – work better in combination. The degree to which the appeals are congruent is called affinity. Programs that serve the same audiences have high affinity. Programs that serve moderately different audiences have only moderate affinity. Programs that serve different audiences have no affinity.

In other words, it is easy to fail. That's why there are under performing stations and content providers in ideal markets. Conversely, with hard work, stations and content providers can overcome less than ideal markets and over perform.

Programming Causes Audience

If the content you create and program consistently appeals to your target audience...the more successful you will become. That is, if the audience is willing to voluntarily support your offerings. Again from Audience 98, "Certain kinds of listeners are attracted to certain kinds of programming. So when we choose what we air, we select who will listen – and also who won’t." I think this holds true no matter the platform. Podcasters should be paying attention. Figure out what the audience wants and go for it! Perhaps, intensive audience research is in order to find out more about the highly educated millennial cohort.

There are  markets with high concentrations of educated people and high performing public radio stations. The top 25 markets with the most educated populations according to Wallet Hub are listed below. The compilation is from 2015. Among these markets are high performing public radio stations. I chose stations with a share in the top 5 among all stations measured in their market. 13 stations are performing exceedingly well when it comes to audience share. 12 are not. There may be mitigating circumstances for under performing stations, but a look at why might prove helpful if your station is in the top 25 of the educational cohort among the 150 metro areas included in the study.

So What?

Think of it this way...stations that perform well with the public radio audience are more likely to generate listener support. That support makes it possible to create content more suited to the platforms used by smart millennial listeners.

Stations in the Top Five

Ann Arbor  WUOM - Michigan Radio  9.8% Share

Washington DC  WAMU  8.0% Share

Madison  WERN  5.8% Share

Boston  WBUR  4.4% Share

Raleigh-Durham  WUNC  7.1% Share

Tallahassee  WFSU  7.9% Share

Portland, Maine  WMAE  8.1% Share

Austin  KUT  5.3% Share

Denver  KCFR-Colorado Public Radio 5.6% Share

Portland, Oregon  KOPB  7.4% Share

Albany  WAMC  4.7% Share

San Francisco  KQED  5.5% Share

Huntsville  WAYH  3.8% Share

Overall Rank	MSA	“Education Level” Rank	“Quality of Education & Attainment Gap” Rank
1	Ann Arbor, MI	1	4
2	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	3	19
3	Madison, WI	2	51
4	Provo-Orem, UT	11	6
5	Colorado Springs, CO	4	47
6	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	6	31
7	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	5	63
8	Lansing-East Lansing, MI	15	1
9	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	7	59
10	Raleigh, NC	10	49
11	Tallahassee, FL	17	15
12	Durham-Chapel Hill, NC	18	9
13	Portland-South Portland, ME	12	68
14	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	21	5
15	Austin-Round Rock, TX	21	11
T-16	Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	9	119
T-16	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	13	66
18	Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY	14	92
19	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	23	30
20	San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	16	110
21	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT	8	149
22	Manchester-Nashua, NH	19	128
23	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	20	116
24	Honolulu, HI	30	14
25	Huntsville, AL	25	99