Despite the recent emergence of alternate music sources, people are remaining loyal to their local radio stations, according to a local report.
The Communications Research Institute of East Lansing, or CRI, conducted a project to determine whether radio interest is being replaced by the high-tech world of satellite radio, personal MP3 players and Internet radio, CRI research team member and MSU Chair of the Department of Communication Charles Atkin said.
"In each case, the total size of the audience isn't as large as for radio," he said. "We find that radio listening for people (ages) 18 to 24 is still three hours a day."
The study consisted of a statewide telephone survey of 300 Michigan residents and several focus groups, Atkin said.
Seventy-nine percent of telephone respondents said they had spent as much or more time listening to local radio compared to one year ago, and 95 percent said they expected to listen to local radio as much or more in the coming year.
WKAR (90.5-FM and 870-AM) station manager Curt Gilleo said several factors contribute to people's loyalty to radio, but the main reason is that radio keeps its listeners connected to the community.
"You feel more tied to what you're listening to when you know who's on the radio," he said, adding that WKAR broadcasts 55 hours of local programming.
Satellite radio, Internet radio and personal MP3 players lack the local component, such as news and sports talk programs. Even though people are still listening to the radio, they're not all listening to the same things, Atkin said.
"Young people used the words 'exciting' and 'modern' and 'cool,'" he said about how people characterized their favorite radio stations. "Old people don't say those things about their stations."
The younger audiences are looking for music and concert information, but the main focus for people over 30 is getting local news, Atkin said.
Impact (88.9-FM) Program Director Brock Elsesser said radio has changed during the nine years he's been involved in it, but radio is actually competing with itself to continue delivering quality content to listeners.
But listeners can interact with the radio stations, via the Impact's message board on its Web site for example and help the stations determine the audience's preferences, which Elsesser said is an advantage for commercial radio.
"It's easier for people to be presented with things than to go out and actively search for it," he said, adding that people can hear the radio everywhere from their car to places of work that play radio music in the background.
"They want to turn something on and be entertained," he said.
Despite the advances of satellite radio and MP3s, technology could provide a chance for radio to keep its listeners. Gilleo said WKAR plans on beginning podcasts for the station's sports talk and long-form news shows.
"I think it's a challenge," he said. "But if we can get involved in it, it's an opportunity."
