Grow the Audience Update

The Grow the Audience Project just released a new audience report and the first in a series of "Thinking Audience" pieces.

As noted in a previous posting on this blog, the project has been short on the vision/mission component of growing the audience. The Thinking Audience pieces appear to be trying to address that. You can find the first of those pieces here.

The audience report confirms again that education and personal values and beliefs play a significant role in determining who does and does not listen to public radio today.

Based on the audience report, it appears the project is leaning towards Cume Rating and Share as public service metrics of the future. More on why this probably isn't a good idea later this week.

End of Year Fundraising

You might have already seen the announcement about the Best of 2008 fundraising special. It's a project we're putting together with Jay Clayton, NPR, PRI, APM, DEI, and Public Interactive.

The centerpiece of the project is a national fundraising special to air on Saturday 12/27. Peter Sagal and Fred Child will host. Ira Glass and the Car Guys will be featured. We will look back at the most compelling moments in public radio in 2008.

There's an off-air fundraising component as well with direct mail letters, eblast copy, and on-air support spots to run from Thanksgiving to December 31.

The Project Overview and FAQ is here. (PDF)

Stations can sign-up here.

Is there something you heard on public radio in 2008 worth including in the special? Submit your suggestions via email: john@radiosuton.com.

Thanks.

Major Breakthrough?

For years public radio has considered listeners who give $1,000 or more annually as major donors. A lot of people at this year's Public Radio Development and Marketing Conference are talking about how that sells public radio short. There seems to be movement to start thinking of these folks as important annual donors. That's going to make room for more productive approaches to getting real major donors -- those who make five, six and seven figure gifts. That's a good thing for public radio.

One Reason We Listen Less

It's always dangerous for those of us in the radio business to project our own listening preferences and patterns on the audience but here I go anyway.

We spend less time listening to public radio now because we're trying to protect our children, ages 6 and 3, from hearing all the stories about people dying from bombs, shootings, and the occasional beheading.

Those stories have to be on the radio. That's the part of the public radio's public service obligation. As an adult citizen it is important to know the full impact of events in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is important to know what's happening in Darfur. I just don't want my children having to hear about this stuff quite yet. So we find ourselves getting our news in other, family-safer ways.

We saw the impact of the news on children during Katrina. It was impossible to not have the TV on at that time. It scared the heck out of our four year old. We did use the opportunity as a teaching moment, but kids don't need those kind of teaching moments every day.

Protecting kids from the media isn't limited to the news either. It is standard practice at our house to flip the TV channel to PBS, the Food Network, or something else safe during commercial breaks on NFL broadcasts. The commercials aren't the biggest concern here either. The promos for "24," "CSI," and whatever new scare show is in the fall line-up aren't kid appropriate. Maybe it's just me, but I don't want my children to have fond memories of Sunday's with Dad looking at video of people being blown-up or lying in a pool of blood.

Perhaps I'm a focus group of one on this matter. But maybe not. At least it is something to consider as public radio seeks to attract new, younger listeners. Many of those potential listeners will be the parents of young children. Their child-rearing instincts might just be more powerful than the need to get their public radio fix.