Let me throw my 2 cents in as a 'party in interest':
The gains WHIO saw came from younger listeners (by younger I'm saying largely 30-somethings) who told us they had never listened to talk radio on AM, but found the programs interesting and entertaining. Increases there will boost your 25-54 numbers. And going from a 6 share average to double digits 12 plus is dramatic proof that talk programs on FM can work. I also suggest beefing up our news department and placing a bigger emphasis on local and regional news coverage also played a part as well.
And, it's not just happening in Dayton. Get a copy of the latest "Talkers" magazine, and look at an advertising insert for one of the talk networks that's in there. They show it's working in several medium and large markets.
No one should suggest that any talk program on either side of the spectrum is the way to get large amounts of teens, or twenty-somethings. Usually, people come to talk radio after they've paid taxes a few years and begin to become politically aware.
However, if you would suggest there's no such thing as a "20-something" conservative...you're fooling yourself.
And, the reason many of those programs are "top heavy" demo wise...is because, for the most part, they are on AM radio, which has virtually no listeners under 40...and soon to come, possibly under 50. Moving to FM seems to expose these programs to a younger group that finds them entertaining who do not listen to AM. The older demos may not be so much due to hardening of listener arteries, as much as it's the hardened arteries of the medium delivering the program.
The gains WHIO saw came from younger listeners (by younger I'm saying largely 30-somethings) who told us they had never listened to talk radio on AM, but found the programs interesting and entertaining. Increases there will boost your 25-54 numbers. And going from a 6 share average to double digits 12 plus is dramatic proof that talk programs on FM can work. I also suggest beefing up our news department and placing a bigger emphasis on local and regional news coverage also played a part as well.
And, it's not just happening in Dayton. Get a copy of the latest "Talkers" magazine, and look at an advertising insert for one of the talk networks that's in there. They show it's working in several medium and large markets.
No one should suggest that any talk program on either side of the spectrum is the way to get large amounts of teens, or twenty-somethings. Usually, people come to talk radio after they've paid taxes a few years and begin to become politically aware.
However, if you would suggest there's no such thing as a "20-something" conservative...you're fooling yourself.
And, the reason many of those programs are "top heavy" demo wise...is because, for the most part, they are on AM radio, which has virtually no listeners under 40...and soon to come, possibly under 50. Moving to FM seems to expose these programs to a younger group that finds them entertaining who do not listen to AM. The older demos may not be so much due to hardening of listener arteries, as much as it's the hardened arteries of the medium delivering the program.