Public Radio and Generation X

A Breakout Session at the
Public Radio Program Directors Conference:
St. Petersburg, FL – September 18, 1998

Delivered by Ingrid Lakey, NPR and
Jay Youngclaus, AUDIENCE 98 Core Team

Hello, my name is Ingrid and I’m a public radio Gen Xer. Before we get started I have a quick story for you. Last month, I was at a festival in Philadelphia and I ran into someone that I grew up with, but hadn’t seen in many years. He is a fellow Gen Xer, a few years younger than me. We got to talking and he asked me what I was doing in Washington D.C. I told him I was working at NPR. He said, "COOL! I listen to NPR all the time. I love Talk of the Nation. I can’t believe Ray Suarez can talk about everything from politics to sports. Morning Edition is great and so is This American Life – I love NPR!"

Hello, my name is Jay and I’m a public radio Gen Xer. But I don’t have any stories for you.

We are here to look at public radio’s future audience. What it will look like and who will be listening. To do that, we have to look at who is listening now. Public radio has spent a lot of time and energy worrying about who’s not listening without being clear about who is listening.

Last month AUDIENCE 98^® reported on younger listeners, those in the so-called "Generation X." The question was: "Is this one of the groups public radio should continue to have angst about?" The answer, in short, is no.

What does AUDIENCE 98 have to tell us about public radio’s Gen Xers?

First, public radio Gen Xers are more like other public radio listeners than they are like other Gen Xers. Don’t believe it? All you have to do is look at their education and values. We’ll get to that in a little bit. What else do we know about public radio Gen Xers?

They enter public radio through two distinct programming paths. Each path attracts a different Gen X character. We’ll talk more about these characters later. But first, let’s get on the table some public radio myths surrounding younger listeners that contribute to the angst.

Public Radio Myths

Who’s heard this one: "No one under 40 listens to public radio"? I hope that not too many of you believe this – because this myth is wrong. There are younger listeners in public radio. In fact, every week, about 3.5 million Gen Xers tune in to public radio.

This means there are already a bunch of listeners in their 20s and 30s today. Clearly, this myth doesn’t stand up to the facts.

Here’s another myth: "Public Radio is not attracting younger listeners." How many of you are worried about this or think it’s true? Well, no matter how many people think it’s true, this myth is also entirely false.

Public radio is attracting younger listeners. In fact, public radio serves Gen Xers a little better than it served Boomers at the same age. What do we mean by this?

This chart explains what we mean a little more clearly. Here you see public radio listening by Gen Xers in yellow, versus Boomers in white.

For example, in 1987 Boomers were about the same age as Gen Xers in 1997. In 1997, eight percent of all Gen Xers tuned to public radio each week, a little higher rate than Boomers when they were that age. If current listening trends continue, public radio could reach 14 percent of Gen Xers in 10 years.

As further evidence that public radio is attracting younger listeners, AUDIENCE 98 asked public radio's Gen Xers directly and three out of four said they were listening to public radio more in the last few years.

How can this be? If you think about it, public radio sounds better now. Programming has come a long way. Public radio has grown up as these listeners have grown up with it. If you have read our report on the web, then you know that both Jay and I grew up with public radio.

Furthermore, Gen Xers are becoming the best-educated cohort in history. Since public radio’s listeners are highly educated, why shouldn’t Gen Xers like Ingrid and I be listening?

Public Radio Gen Xers

Sticking to reality and not myths, let’s go back to what we said a few minutes ago: Public radio Gen Xers are more like other public radio listeners than they are like other Gen Xers.

Looking at education and VALSä2– a system that categorizes people by their resources and self-orientations – proves this.

Here we see that Gen Xers who listen to public radio are better educated than their peers. In fact, they are three times more likely to have a college degree than non-listening Gen Xers.

AUDIENCE 98 tells us that most public radio Gen Xers are Actualizers or Fulfilleds – the VALS types of mature values.

When we compare public radio Gen Xers who are Actualizers to all Gen Xers who are Actualizers, we see once again, that public radio Gen Xers are more like other public radio listeners than they are like other Gen Xers. In fact, we are three times more likely to be Actualizers.

And while there are not a large number of Fulfilleds among public radio Gen Xers, there are lots more than there are in the general population. In fact, we are five times more likely to be Fulfilleds than the general Gen X population.

To recap: Public radio Gen Xers stand out from their peers just like every other group of listeners in public radio does. It’s about education and values. Specifically, more education and more mature values. Public radio listeners have them more in abundance than their peers do.

Two Types of Public Radio Gen Xers

Another AUDIENCE 98 finding is that Gen Xers enter public radio through two distinct programming paths. Each path attracts a different Gen X character.

The first path is paved with typical public radio programming– that is, news and information, classical music and jazz. The other path features "alternative" music less common to public radio such as rock, AAA, rhythm & blues, and ethnic music.

Most Gen X listeners come to public radio through the hallmark programming on mainstream stations.

As you see in this chart, these listeners at what we call the "Big X" Stations are the most educated of public radio’s Gen Xers.

A much smaller group of Gen Xers is listening to stations that hardly carry news and information programming. They air mostly "alternative" music. Gen Xers at these "Strong X" Stations are the least educated public radio Gen Xers.

Again: When we say "Big X we mean stations with the biggest number of Gen X listeners in their weekly cumes. The "Big X" stations all have a Gen X cume of at least 75,000. And when we say "Strong X" we mean stations with the strongest concentration of Gen Xers – that is, the highest percentage of Gen Xers in their weekly cume, regardless of how big that cume is. All of our "Strong X" stations have 40% or more Gen Xers in their audience.

This chart compares the Gen X listening at "Big X" Stations to "Strong X" stations. As you can see there are some pretty dramatic differences. For example, at "Big X," Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Other News and Information programming dominate the Gen X listening. Music listening is pretty small.

Just about the opposite is true at the "Strong X" stations, which barely carry news and information programming. Here the music listening is off the charts. And this music is clearly not so much classical and jazz as it is rock, rhythm and blues, and other music not so widely heard on public radio.

Options & Consequences

Turning away from what AUDIENCE 98 can tell us about the listeners in our audience today, what do we see in public radio’s future with younger listeners?

We think public radio’s Gen X future depends on the programming choices made today. Working on and thinking about this report led us to three different programming options and their consequences:

The first option: You can create programs specifically to attract a general Generation X audience. Consequence? It will be at the expense of the rest of your audience. You will be venturing into foreign territory, no longer dealing with the educated listener. Doing so will alienate older listeners as well as your current Gen Xers who like what’s on now.

A second option would be to simply "stay the course." Keep on with the same quality programming that you air today. Doing this will keep your audience growing at the rates that we saw before. As each generation ages and becomes more educated and more mature, more of them will listen to public radio.

A third option would be to improve all programming and the general sound of your station. Consequence? You will increase listening among all age groups. You will increase the value of your station to all of your listeners and attract new ones.

We know there are plenty of things to worry about in the world of public radio. But we are here to tell you that you can spend your time and energy in better ways than by flipping out about Generation X.

You already have us and can better serve us and the rest of your listeners by continuing to do your jobs well. And keep in mind that the key attractions to public radio are education and values not age.

Thanks for your time and for caring about the future of public radio.

For More Information

Generation X. The key findings presented here are based on AUDIENCE 98's Generation X report, which examines public radio's 21 to 32 year old listeners.

• David Giovannoni, in his Adagio, suggests that the results of the Gen X study should remind us of the most Basic Principles of radio and our niche in it.
  
• Leslie Peters treats public radio's two types of Gen X listeners as Cases From The X Files. Stations with high concentrations of Gen X listeners ("Strong X" stations) serve a somewhat different flavor of Gen Xer than other public stations.
  
• Many Xers grew up listening to public radio in their parent's homes and cars. Associate Ingrid Lakey, and Core Team member Jay Youngclaus, recount their earliest public radio memories in I Want My NPR. Ingrid brings her perspective up to date in her essay, I Am Not A Slacker. What? Produce special public radio programs for Gen Xers? Not!
  
• Of course not every Xer grew up with public radio, but all have grown into it. Wait 'Til You're Old Enough takes a fresh look at historic data to compare the entries of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers into public radio's audience. The finding: As they mature, Gen Xers are entering the audience in numbers similar to their Baby Boom parents 10-20 years earlier.
  
• For a snapshot of their development as listeners, check out How Gen X Uses Public Radio.

Older Listeners.   AUDIENCE 98 also examines Public Radio's Older Audience, those at the other end of the age spectrum from Generation X.

• Audience 98 Associate Peter Dominowski sees parallels between Gen Xers and The Old Folks At Home.
  
• Older listeners are both Willing And Able to give. Their age offers extra fundraising potential.
  
• In a graphic essay Audience 98’s Core Team compares and contrasts Four Generations of Listening and Giving. Listeners of all ages are more alike than they are different. However, generational distinctions do exist, and understanding them can help us better serve any particular generation.

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