A friend who worked for many years reading the news on a news/talk station changed jobs and is now on a country music station. In one of the first conversations with his new boss, he was told to favor stories that would appeal to the station’s audience. That included stories on “blue-collar stories” to the heavily male listeners.
Public media stations seek to diversify their audience base. But what is being done to appeal to different audiences?
A new Pew Research Center study indicates that Black Americans don’t think the media meets their needs.
- Fewer than half (40%) of Black Americans say that the issues and events most important to them are often covered in the outlets they get news from, compared with 54% of White Americans.
- There is a wide range of issues that Black Americans want to keep up with. Half or more say it’s extremely or very important to them to follow news about health care and medicine (66%), crime (58%), economy and jobs (57%), or education and schools (54%).
What stories are Black Americans interested in learning more about? You can find that list here.
There are things newsrooms can do to appeal to a diverse audience. The biggest is to ask them through formal surveys or informal meetings with listener groups.
Trying to broaden the content on your station is in line with fundamental journalistic values. You can report on all significant stories of your community, but pay special attention to the issues impacting your audience, much like my friend on the country station is doing.
Dave Edwards managed WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio for more than 30 years and served as Chair of the NPR Board of Directors. He now advises public media stations and professionals. Find out more HERE.
Dave Edwards Media 