Current (https://current.org/author/john-sutton/)
“The appeal of the content must be clearly different than what we currently offer. The people needed to do this work are probably not even in our industry today.”
It’s time to start getting and sharing answers to key economic questions about the radio and digital content we’re offering audiences.
“We need to stop thinking about audiences in terms of technology and start thinking about audiences of the brand, no matter how they access us.”
The landmark study was designed “to provide insights into the relationship among programming, audiences and finances that stand the test of time.”
Fundraising consultants address an argument that public radio’s studies of giving habits need an update.
Stations need to rethink their approach to NPR co-branding and on-demand access to content.
A segment on our podcast touched off this in-depth exchange between the audience researcher and the Planet Money co-founder.
Here’s a take on the topic of a panel held Oct. 1, 2004, at the Public Radio Program Directors Conference in San Antonio: “Scanning the Horizon: New Audiences for Public Radio.” The author is public radio consultant John Sutton, described by PRPD as one of the “visionaries and agitators” interviewed by planners of the panel discussion. How will public radio get the new audiences it needs? You hear the question more and more when our colleagues get together. But we should answer other questions beforehand: Do we really need new audiences?
Contrary to a myth popular in public radio, our audience is not going to die off anytime soon. The audience today is significant in size and influence and continues to grow even though Americans in general are listening to less radio than in the past. The primary audience indicators — loyalty, share and weekly cume audience — suggest there is room for even more growth. Fall 2003 AudiGraphics data show that 40 percent of all stations with an average quarter-hour audience of 2,000 or more have an average listener loyalty of less than 33.3 percent. That means that typical public radio listeners spend less than one-third of their radio listening time with their favorite public radio station.