They're Still Listening...You're appealing to their values!

Knowing Your Audience

PRPD rolled out the Core Values of Public Radio between 2002 and 2005. I thought it was a big deal then, not because I was on the PRPD board for a couple of years, but because the research was able to define why listeners chose to listen and support public radio. 

According to the latest research shared by Jacobs Media in their 2018 Tech Survey at the PRPD conference, Core Values continues to be the top reasons for listening. I'm assuming this is across all platforms.

Core Values are the top six main reasons for listening.

  More credible and objective programming  78%
  To be informed about the news  72%
  Enjoy learning new things  71%
  Deeper news perspective  70%
  Respects my intelligence  68%
  Balanced perspective  65%

Favorite Program made the top ten. So did presentation style.

Some long held beliefs about radio programming, that listeners tune in because its a habit and because it offers companionship and because it's free, are pretty far down this list. 

For wonky research driven, audience first types like me, Core Values crystallized the reasons for the high loyalty of public radio's listeners. It's good news that those values still hold true. 

The results of the Tech Survey confirms that Public Radio continues to serve it's audience.