For Radio, Do All Roads Leads To LOCAL?

For me, today’s post has been bubbling under for a long time.

If you’ve been a reader of this blog for more than a minute or two, you no doubt know my feelings about what I call “the local opportunity.”

No, it goes well beyond having live bodies in the studio.  For radio to effectively hold up the mirror to a city or town, it requires empathetic talent who can communicate a sense of place; that is, what makes this place different than yours, and why that matters.

Our Techsurveys, especially since the pandemic, have been very clear about why “local” matters.  While COVID was global tragedy, its effects were felt quite close to home.  Where can I get the vaccine?  Is a mask required in that building?  Who’s got toilet paper in stock?  Why has my favorite restaurant gotten rid of its menus and replaced them with those weird square code things?

We’ve seen the numbers in our national studies of core radio listeners turn bigger and more robust on behalf of the local zeitgeist.  It is also true in just about every research project we see that progressively younger people are more moved by an emphasis on all things local.

This is nothing new, and I have consistently written about this often “unfilled” opportunity for local radio.

But what makes all this even more poignant right now is that radio is witnessing a veritable sea change transition in sense and sensibilities.  While consumers care about what going on in Tehran, Toledo, and Toronto, what moves them is what’s happening in their backyards, their school board meetings, and the farmer’s market on Saturday morning.

My point of view in recent years has shifted.  While my career path and long-time success has been in commercial radio, Jacobs Media has significantly shifted its client make-up.  These days, we’re just as busy and present in both public radio and Christian music radio.  And those perspectives have given us greater context into how broadcast radio is changing.

Public radio – especially its news stations – has traditionally been heavily dependent on network-delivered programming, led by NPR.  Other content organizations, including APM, PRI, and PRX have created weekday and weekend programming across the public radio spectrum.  Many public radio station schedules are heaviy skewed toward network and syndicated shows.

Similar to what we’re seeing in commercial radio, core fans in public radio have expressed a growing appetite for more locally driven news, programming, and content in general.  This crystalized in an effort spearheaded by City Square Associates in a collective project commissioned by the Station Resource Group (SRG), Public Radio Program Directors (now the Public Media Content Collective or PMCC), and Greater Public, the organization responsible for fundraising and underwriting.

City Square aggregated 32 research studies conducted for public radio stations across the country, in search of common themes that reoccurred across many different markets and public radio formats.  The key finding that led off their effort?  Local matters:

And the theme has continued.  City Square recently completed a massive study on behalf of public radio stakeholders called “Researching Unmet Needs” – or “RUN.”  Once again, all roads led to local, another moment where the public radio community is taking stock of changing conditions on the ground to better serve its audiences and its communities.

Right now today, it’s more than a little precarious in “public radio land.”  Its funding via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting hangs in the balance.  But it will get sorted – one way or the other.  And at that point, public radio stations in Nome and New York City will get back to answering the question about the balance between network programming and local shows that have yet to be created and produced.  Down the road, look for more and more local shows to find their way on those public radio airwaves.

As I write this, our 17th annual Public Radio Techsurvey is in the field.  And to meet  the moment, this year’s questionnaire has a decided tilt toward local.  How do listeners define it, why does it matter. what are the most essential components, and what does coverage look like?  I’ll be back in just a month or so to talk about the findings, first at the PMCC Conference, and later in a free webinar.

Just down the radio street, there’s Christian radio.  I don’t believe there are available data to tell us the percentage of network shows versus local programming there is nationwide.  I do know there are a lot of ministries across the land, and many stations are patchwork quilts of programs hosted by religious leaders and spokespeople across the spectrum.  So, a local emphasis for Christian radio?  How would that work?

Well, if you ask Adam Curry, he’d advise Christian organizations get on that local train yesterday.  In fact, that was his actual message to a full house of Christian broadcasters at this year’s National Religious Broadcasters Conference in Grapevine, Texas.

In case you somehow missed MTV in the 80s, Adam was one of the original VJs who has gone on to make a name for himself, particularly as a podcasting and Internet pioneer who’s always had a lot to say.

In a Forum session moderated by “Focus on the Family” executive John Fuller, the name of Curry’s session said it all:’

“The Future of Radio is Local”

In an email summarizing this session, NRB wrapped up Curry’s admonitions to the broadcasters in attendance this way:

“…tomorrow’s broadcast revolution starts with city council meetings, high school sports, and neighborhood worship nights. If Christian communicators want to shape culture, we must amplify the stories unfolding on our own streets.”

Powerful words from a communicator who’s been on several national stages or pulpits.  Among his other pearls of local wisdom, Curry reminded attendees that “churches are ‘content factories,’ comprised of sermons, youth panels, and choirs.

He also advised the assembled broadcasters to focus on youth as a groundswell foundation for a local radio initiative.  Curry talked about the importance of “training tomorrow’s talent” by arming high school kids with mics, recorders, and editing tools because there’s “nothing more powerful than a kid hearing, ‘I heard your stuff.'”

It would be fascinating to learn how Curry’s talk landed with this audience, one that has thrived on the glory and prestige of nationwide speakers.   Again, this was yet another sign of local not just being a smart, strategic initiative for radio brands, but also a way to re-establish the medium’s relevance in this important moment.

So, you’re probably wondering, “What does this look like?”

In past posts right here, I have advocated for capital investment in vehicles like the one you see below.  I ran into a number of these while attending a Radiodays convention in Dublin several years ago.

Why wouldn’t you want your morning show or your afternoon drivers broadcasting from “points of interest” all over the metro?  In Europe, these types of community investments in presence and visibility are common.  In the U.S., hardly anyone does this stuff – certainly not on this scale.  We’re much more likely to mail in any semblance of a local presence with a card table, a banner, and a prize wheel.

When you consider the ease of setting up shop at a local 10K, a farmers market, a political event, a sports tournament, a major concert, or a 4th of July fireworks extravaganza, it’s not a heavy lift to establish physical connections with your constituents. Use your imagination.

Speaking of which, a good example of making a local presence come to life is happening close to my home here in the Detroit metro.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t launched by one of the radio stations. It’s WDIV-TV, the NBC affiliate.

The creation of a coffee shop/gathering spot in a prominent suburb of Detroit is a collaboration by the TV station along with a small chain of coffee shops in the area, the Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company.

The team at Channel 4 sees all kind of applications and uses for Fourgrounds (get it?) for their brand – a satellite operation for their local news efforts, community gatherings, a remote studio for their “Live in the D” show, and things they haven’t thought of yet.

Why do it?  Here’s WDIV-TV president/GM Bob Ellis:

“We want to be a local news brand that builds community. By creating a space like this where everyone is welcome, we will be more local than ever before, and we believe that means something special.” 

Perhaps ironically, this story was reported in the Detroit Free Press, one of the city’s two daily newspapers probably kicking themselves for not doing this first.

Jacobs Media has conducted considerable research over the past decade revolving  around news content and distribution.  More often than not, broadcast TV stations in the area are receiving the credit for best local news coverage.  And justifiably so.  This new initiative by WDIV-TV will only bolster the station’s position in a market where local truly matters.

Why is it that hometown television stations are getting the message while local radio debates which formats are helped or hurt by the “3 minute rule?”

It’s about presence, “eye contact,” doing the work, and holding up that mirror to the local community and its denizens.

How long will it take for radio to get the message?

As Adam Curry sums it up about radio’s hyper-local future:

“Local can absolutely be sustained by the local community.”

That’s a topic we’d love to talk to you about over a cup of coffee.

You can watch Adam Curry’s NRB Forum session below: