Rounding Up the Usual Suspects

Does public radio appeal to the children of Baby Boomers? Is public radio serving racial and ethnic minorities? Will classical music’s older listeners die soon? And if so, will they take classical music with them?

Like Casablanca’s police prefect Louis Renault, AUDIENCE 98 rounds up these usual suspects, knowing full well they aren’t the genuine culprit.

Public radio’s audience is a virtual community of educated Americans drawn by the values, beliefs and interests of its programming. Age and sex, racial and ethnic background, income and social status – each and every one is a phony suspect – a beard, a shill – subservient to the real mastermind: education. Education lurks behind the answer to every question about the audience.

The usual suspects, however, continue to distract us. Once again, it’s time to line them up and expose them.

 

		Rounding Up the Usual Suspects
			Public Radio's Minority Audiences
			Public Radio's Generation X Audience
			Public Radio's Older Audience
			Getting to More with the Concept of Core

Audience Research Analysis
Copyright © ARA and CPB.  All rights reserved.
Revised: September 01, 2000 12:38 PM.