The Graying Of NPR’s Audience…

Monday, November, 23, 2009 by Mel Phillips.

A new study by Walrus Research exposes the aging audience of NPR’s listeners, a fate common to all formats with an abundance of the dreaded 54+ listeners. That’s the cutoff point for radio revenue and all other forms of media. The study covered a ten year period from spring 1999 to spring 2009. Over that period, NPR’s listeners had a median age of 52. Jazz and Classical music stations that carry NPR news had median ages of 55 and 65 respectively. The median age was the midpoint of the average quarter hour listening audience, Monday-Sunday, 6am-12m…

As of spring 2009, 19 percent of the audience for NPR news stations was generated by persons who were 60 plus years old and not employed. Arbitron’s PPM measurement mirrors the Walrus study in that listeners are highly educated, affluent and beyond middle age. Core and loyalty factors for NPR News stations rose from 30 to 36 percent and 37 to 48 percent respectively from spring 1997 to spring 2009. Classical stations stayed at 33 percent for their core audience and loyalty held steady at 36 percent over the same period and Jazz stations dipped from 21 to 17 percent in their core audience and 20 to 16 percent with their loyalty to the format over the same period…

Not only are NPR, Classical and Jazz audiences aging but so are Baby Boomers, born 1946 - 1964. On January 1, 2010, the oldest Baby Boomer turns 64. Cue the Beatles…    

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1876] Politics as usual: Corrupt Tammany Hall leader William Marcy (Boss) Tweed is captured in Spain and returned to authorities in New York…
2. 1889] Jukebox Saturday Night every night: The first jukebox goes into service at the Palais Royal Saloon in San Francisco. Owned by developer Louis T. Glass, the box contains an Edison tinfoil phonograph with 4 listening tubes. A nickel bought a few minutes of music. The jukebox took in a whopping $1,000 in 6 months (11/23)…
3. 1936] A Life is born: The first edition of Life is published…
4. 1971] Chinese imports: Representatives of the People’s Republic of China are seated at the U.N…
5. 1980] Earthshaking: A series of earthquakes in Southern Italy takes 3,000 lives…
6. 1981] A secret no longer: Ronald Reagan secretly signs off on Iran-Contra…
7. 1984] Hail Mary: Doug Flutie connects with roomie Gerard Phelan and Boston College defeats Miami 47-45 in one of the greatest college football games of all-time (11/23) Bernie Kosar was the Miami QB…
8. 1985] Hijacking: Gunman hijack an Egyptian plane, 60 are killed…
9. 2006] Spy snuffing: Former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko dies in London from radiation poisoning after making a deathbed statement blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin (11/23)…
10. 2000] Drawing a blank: The Florida Supreme Court refuses to order Miami-Dade County to resume counting ballots by hand in the presidential race…








Music Memories:

• 1960] Number One on this date: “Are You Lonesome Tonight” - Elvis Presley (11/23)…1974] “I Can Help” - Billy Swan (11/23) I had the pleasure of working with Billy who was a member of Kris Kristofferson’s band…

Commentary:

Radio suffered another loss with the news that veteran programmer Dene Hallam passed away on Saturday at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Dene programmed Country stations in Houston, San Francisco, Detroit, Kansas City and Atlanta. He started in top 40 radio and was one of the few programmers to have won Billboard Radio Awards for PD of the year in two different formats. Dene, 56, leaves behind three daughters and a wife…The Forever Young Folk Music History Month continues in Harvard Square through November 30th at locations throughout the square. Live music, photos and artwork can be enjoyed all day long until 9 pm. For more information on events, email www.harvardsquare.com For information about the New England Folk Music Archives: www.newenglandfolkmusic.org …

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”: Miley Cyrus (17), Jonathan Papelbon (29), Robin Roberts (49), Bruce Hornsby (55), Sen. Chuck Schumer (59), Luis Tiant (69???), Gloria Lynne (78) and Jack McKeon (79)…

Timeline Countdown: 3 days until Thanksgiving, 18 days until Hanukah, 29 days until winter and 32 days until Christmas…

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