What Some Younger Listeners Think About You, Part One

It's interesting what you can find out if you just ask.

One of the things I'm involved with when I'm not doing the All Access News-Talk-Sports thing is a new social network operation connected to a popular website that appeals to a particular demographic, namely creative and/or technologically-inclined young adults. Okay, nerds. (The primary site is Nerdist.com, so you get the idea. The name is worn proudly) Anyway, there are a few thousand people in the beta version of the social network thing, and it dawned on me that they were precisely the people the pundits are telling us aren't listening to radio, the ones who have abandoned "old media" and are irretrievably gone, off listening to iPods and Pandora and podcasts.

So I asked them about it. Sure, it's unscientific, a sort of quasi-focus group, but I figured, hey, why not? I posted a bunch of questions and the answers rolled in. They're still rolling in, because I'm going to leave it open as more people come into the group. Since it's an ongoing thing, we'll keep revisiting the responses in this column over time.

So, you wanna know what they've been saying so far? Remember, this is totally unscientific and unweighted and all that, but I thought it might be interesting to hear what people who aren't part of the radio industry think about our industry. The age range is 19 to 40, most being in their 20s or early 30s. Here we go:

I asked whether they're listening more or less than five years ago, and you'd expect that the answer would be "less." But it's mixed. Some people have moved to iPods as their primary audio entertainment source, but others are listening more to radio because their commutes are longer now. And still others are listening to about the same amount of radio. But most of the people who listen less have moved to iPods and listen to their own music and podcasts.

Fill-in-the-blank questions are cheap and easy, so I asked two. First, this one, with an eye towards what talk radio's image is among younger audiences: "Talk Radio Is For..." The answers: My grandmother. When my iPod's battery dies. Sports fans and political junkies. Being an amusing, engaging or thoughtful alternative to music. (I knew you'd like that one) People Who Like To Hear People Talk Waaayy Too Much. Blowhards and crazy people at home who like to sit on hold and then get on the radio. (I figured you wouldn't like that one) Right wing blowhards, sportsnuts and crazies. (Ditto) Old people. Preaching to the choir and people who like to argue. Killing time while driving. The world before Podcasts and web radio. People who really want to get their uninformed opinion on the air. People who like to hear themselves talk. Squares. (Yes, you heard him) Somebody else, I guess.

Here's the other one: "If talk radio talked about ______________, I'd listen more." The answers: I don't think there's a word or phrase that can fill the blank to make the sentence true. Actual issues instead of pointing fingers and blaming people. Informed debate. Video games. Things that actually entertained my ears. Civil, productive discussions of local topics, good clean funny stuff I can listen to with my kid. Stand-up comedy. I don't know that there is a topic that would make me listen more. (That's going to be a tough nut to crack) The aliens that are advancing on our planet. (Has he not heard of "Coast-to-Coast AM"?) And a few said that it's not the topic, it's the person delivering it.

As I mentioned, there's more, and you'll see it here soon, with some analysis as well. For now, it seems that this group still listens, albeit mostly not as much as before, and they don't all hate radio in general or talk radio in particular; They just wish it gave them more of something different. Does that mean they're ideal targets for podcasts? Does it mean you can reach them? Again, it's hardly scientific, but I think there's hope. We'll look at more of the questions and responses and get into specifics in future columns.

And while we're at it, why aren't you using your websites and social media to find out what your specific audience thinks? I see plenty of Facebook fan pages and Twitter accounts used to promote upcoming topics and promotions, but very little follow-up. How about asking those followers -- your P1s (there's that jargon again) -- what they thought of a topic or segment? Why not run a topic by them BEFORE you do it to see if they'd like to hear about it? You have these new tools and willing participants, and, surely, letting them participate in the creation and execution of your show will generate more loyalty, so why not try it?

Like I said, you can find out a lot of interesting stuff by just asking.

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You don't need to ask where to find material for your show, do you? The answer, as always, is All Access News-Talk-Sports' Talk Topics column, and I don't have time for the roundup of samples, but you can go there and find everything from hard news to kickers from around the world. You'll also want to read "10 Questions With..." KFI/Los Angeles midday host Bill Carroll, who made the unusual jump from Canadian to American talk radio and can tell you the difference in approaches and what it's like to go from one to the other and from Toronto to L.A. As usual, you'll also find news, job listings, columns, music charts, and other resources at All Access, and it's all free.

You can also get the latest top radio news headlines through the Net News Twitter feed at twitter.com/allaccess and on Facebook. Download the All Access iPhone app by clicking here or the All Access Android app by clicking here; both apps were developed by our friends at jacAPPS. And then there's my personal Twitter feed at twitter.com/pmsimon and my blog at pmsimon.com, and both of those are not related to or the fault of All Access.

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Oh, yeah, I promised a comment about the National League Championship Series in last week's column. Can we hold that thought until next week? I'm hoping that the name Cody Ross will be a dim memory by then.

Perry Michael Simon
Editor
All Access News-Talk-Sports
psimon@allaccess.com
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www.twitter.com/pmsimon