other than listening to imus, while i lived in ny,i have never listened to talk radio. so eventhough i know the names listed here, i am not familar with their "radio personality".
( BW)(TX-THE-BENCHMARK-COMPANY) Talk Show Listeners Talk Back on Balance, Talent and Commercial Interruptions; National Benchmark Survey Shows Liberal Radio Network Might Be Feasible
Entertainment Editors/Business Editors
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 9, 2003--Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh may be the most recognized radio talk show personality in America (93 percent recognition) and the lead player in a conservative radio revolution, but 40 percent of talk radio listeners feel the format lacks balance and that they favor talent over ideology, according to a just-completed national study titled "Talk Radio in America: A National Perspective." The study also highlighted changes in the talk radio format over the past decade and dispelled myths about what is driving listeners and the success of talk radio.
The Benchmark Company, an Austin-based market research firm, recently unveiled the results of an independent national study of 997 AM and FM talk radio listeners in the 100 largest U.S. markets. In addition to talent trumping ideology and the debate over balance on the air waves, other key findings show that while there is a preponderance of nationally syndicated talk shows, most of which are conservative or libertarian in their ideology, 61 percent of respondents cited local personalities as their favorite hosts. Station management must also balance the amount of time devoted to interruptions for advertising, news, weather and traffic as listeners cited the increasing number of commercial and other interruptions as the number one reason they are turning off talk radio.
"While the number of nationally syndicated shows has grown in the past decade, the driving factor for listeners is talent, not ideology," explained Dr. Rob Balon, chief executive officer of Benchmark Company, and the study's author. "Rush Limbaugh works because he is a talented entertainer who puts a great deal of effort into preparation so that he hosts a good show. He just happens to be a conservative."
The study revealed that Limbaugh (93%), shock jock Howard Stern (79%), Don Imus (71%) and Dr. Laura Schlessinger (68%) were the national personalities with the highest levels of awareness. Coming on strong in the 2003 survey were radio hosts with cable TV news shows. Those garnering significant recognition were conservatives Michael Savage (67%), Bill O'Reilly (65%), Sean Hannity (64%) and Mike Gallagher (54%).
The question of balance was split according to the listener's ideology. Among liberals, 72% felt that talk radio did not provide balanced programming. Forty-three percent of moderates echoed the same sentiments, while 85% of conservatives thought the balance was just fine. Though the number of "conservative" hosts has increased, the number of listeners saying they were conservative has grown only 8 percent in the past decade.
"While this may not be a mandate for a liberal talk radio network, it's certainly an indication that there's room for excellent talk show hosts on the other side of the political spectrum," reports Balon. "Yet as tempting as it might be to fill a station with entirely syndicated content, management needs to understand many listeners are equally concerned about local and regional issues that are unique to their area."
Another interesting finding was that the format hasn't attracted that many new, permanent listeners since Sept. 11, 2001. Times of crisis and war are usually a boon for talk radio listener conversions. In fact, only 4 percent of listeners said they had become full-time listeners of the format during that time frame.
"The events of the last two years have created unprecedented opportunities for talk radio," added Balon. "However, most of the listeners who flocked to the format during 9-11 and the Iraq war didn't stay or at least didn't remember what talk station they had listened to during the crises. And to a large degree, that's the fault of individual talk stations."
( BW)(TX-THE-BENCHMARK-COMPANY) Talk Show Listeners Talk Back on Balance, Talent and Commercial Interruptions; National Benchmark Survey Shows Liberal Radio Network Might Be Feasible
Entertainment Editors/Business Editors
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 9, 2003--Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh may be the most recognized radio talk show personality in America (93 percent recognition) and the lead player in a conservative radio revolution, but 40 percent of talk radio listeners feel the format lacks balance and that they favor talent over ideology, according to a just-completed national study titled "Talk Radio in America: A National Perspective." The study also highlighted changes in the talk radio format over the past decade and dispelled myths about what is driving listeners and the success of talk radio.
The Benchmark Company, an Austin-based market research firm, recently unveiled the results of an independent national study of 997 AM and FM talk radio listeners in the 100 largest U.S. markets. In addition to talent trumping ideology and the debate over balance on the air waves, other key findings show that while there is a preponderance of nationally syndicated talk shows, most of which are conservative or libertarian in their ideology, 61 percent of respondents cited local personalities as their favorite hosts. Station management must also balance the amount of time devoted to interruptions for advertising, news, weather and traffic as listeners cited the increasing number of commercial and other interruptions as the number one reason they are turning off talk radio.
"While the number of nationally syndicated shows has grown in the past decade, the driving factor for listeners is talent, not ideology," explained Dr. Rob Balon, chief executive officer of Benchmark Company, and the study's author. "Rush Limbaugh works because he is a talented entertainer who puts a great deal of effort into preparation so that he hosts a good show. He just happens to be a conservative."
The study revealed that Limbaugh (93%), shock jock Howard Stern (79%), Don Imus (71%) and Dr. Laura Schlessinger (68%) were the national personalities with the highest levels of awareness. Coming on strong in the 2003 survey were radio hosts with cable TV news shows. Those garnering significant recognition were conservatives Michael Savage (67%), Bill O'Reilly (65%), Sean Hannity (64%) and Mike Gallagher (54%).
The question of balance was split according to the listener's ideology. Among liberals, 72% felt that talk radio did not provide balanced programming. Forty-three percent of moderates echoed the same sentiments, while 85% of conservatives thought the balance was just fine. Though the number of "conservative" hosts has increased, the number of listeners saying they were conservative has grown only 8 percent in the past decade.
"While this may not be a mandate for a liberal talk radio network, it's certainly an indication that there's room for excellent talk show hosts on the other side of the political spectrum," reports Balon. "Yet as tempting as it might be to fill a station with entirely syndicated content, management needs to understand many listeners are equally concerned about local and regional issues that are unique to their area."
Another interesting finding was that the format hasn't attracted that many new, permanent listeners since Sept. 11, 2001. Times of crisis and war are usually a boon for talk radio listener conversions. In fact, only 4 percent of listeners said they had become full-time listeners of the format during that time frame.
"The events of the last two years have created unprecedented opportunities for talk radio," added Balon. "However, most of the listeners who flocked to the format during 9-11 and the Iraq war didn't stay or at least didn't remember what talk station they had listened to during the crises. And to a large degree, that's the fault of individual talk stations."
