Hmmm...regardless of numbers, the people who do like Indie are passionate about the music, unlike a format like CHR where people are pretty fickle about artists, like where is Hilary Duff nowadays? Indielover does make a good point about how past programming may have driven people away from radio, altho' I would say the internet and ipod listening may have done more damage. Even Stern going to satellite affected radio (or at least KLSX's numbers).
David, I will say that I have an observation to make about your posts. We all dig your posts, even when we're having an argument. YOu are very analytical about radio. And very clever with numbers and statistics. The reason why I think many stations do things that puzzle you is because many people don't approach radio purely with an analytical point of view. I think that many people program with passion and it is that passion that tends to foster those formats that give you trouble figuring out why they even EXIST in the first place (case in point, AAA stations! Indie!).

Rock, especially, breeds radio that is born of passion. Indie, AAA are both formats which you condemn from your analysis, but I have to breath some relief that there are people who DO think that way, that they lean more toward passion in their programming than statistics because radio sure would be boring as hell. Or well, even more boring than it currently is (yeah, I'm kinda bored with radio ..altho' in my case, it's mostly because I have that Neil Young thing going where I can't really stand the poor quality of the digital domain and the low res of music being broadcasted. I think there are a great deal of radio people who went into radio because they, well, love rock music! So, if you are trying to find good people, you are more likely to run into folks who dig rock music in its many forms!!
Trust me, if I went into radio for the money...huh? what money?? See what I mean?
Anyway, it's all amusing to see you trying to grok the whole alt rock point of view...I think that for you it's kinda like you are seeing something that doesn't make sense in a movie (something like "why is it that space travelers always land on planets where they can breathe?") SO, it is with these strange formats that seemingly exist, breathing in an airless radio space, devoid of ratings and YET, might be making SOME money somewheres. At that point, you might need to just let go and "let art flow"...l