Larry Johnson

AM radio has a fond space in the memories of those of us who grew up in the age of AM.  Today the fate of the AM radio is dire.  With the exception of some large-market, heritage AM stations, we may be witnessing the withering away of a medium.
            There’s relatively little listening to AM radio, and the listener composition is, for the most part, much older than the 25-54 money demo.  According to News/Talk specialist Holland Cooke, 80% of radio Time Spent Listening (TSL) is to FM.  A look at page 12 of Arbitron’s Radio Today detailing national radio format shares and station counts by AM and FM bears out Cooke’s observation.  Over twenty years ago, the median age of an AM radio listener was 55 according to a 1991 comprehensive investigation by Public Broadcasting’s  David Giovannoni…and that’s over 20 years ago!  I don’t have a spare $10,000 to purchase Arbitron’s nationwide database, so Giovannoni’s paper is the closest thing I could find.
            Overwhelmingly, News/Talk/Information is the main format to be found on AM radio.  Some claim that Rush Limbaugh saved AM radio.  Although I’m no dittohead, that may be true.  All Sports is the second most prominent AM format…another spoken-word offering.  News/Talk and All Sports can be low overhead operations if the station simply carries syndicated programming.  Country, Religious, Classic Country and Oldies each have over 300 stations broadcasting those formats on AM.
            Many younger people don’t even use AM radio.  No wonder that many AMers are either simulcasting on FM or have moved their News/Talk station to FM.  One colleague reports the AM station he worked on in the 1970s is still charging the same dollar rate today as they did in the ‘70s.
            Michael Harrison’s editorial analysis on the Research tab of Talkers.com hints that the only salvation for AM News/Talk may be a psychographic sell rather than the traditional cost per thousand calculation.  Heritage stations like WSB-AM Atlanta and KFI Los Angeles are able to compete, but spoken-word AM stations generally are having a tough time.  So you hear mostly paid (bartered) programming on the weekends on AM News/Talk stations, and we’re hearing more AM bartered programming weekdays given the financial dynamic detailed above.
            News/Talk has contributed to a vibrant discussion in our democracy.  The platform on which that discussion takes place seems to be radically changing.

Talk Shows Migrating to the Internet
            The dismal financial shape of most AMers is a barrier for those stations to hire and cultivate Talk show hosts.  Meanwhile, we’re seeing an explosion in Internet Talk programming.
            For the aspiring talk show host trying to maximize the number of listeners, Internet Talk sites may offer more potential than the small audiences that the overwhelming majority of AM stations can muster.  The best strategy may be to have an ‘aggregator’ or site pick up the show.  There seems to be plenty of Internet Talk sites including  Stitcher, Voice America, Live 365, WSJ Radio, and TunedIn just to name a few that have come to our attention in the last year.  One person who does a self-help program on an Internet site claims 2,300 listeners the first month and 16,000 second month.  Those numbers compare very favorably to the listeners one might expect most AM Talkers.
            There seems to be a relatively large, self-selected audience trolling for Talk content.  This may be a further example of people seeking out opinions that mirror their own, and/or people may realize that there’s a wealth of information/entertainment awaiting them via Internet Talk programs custom fit to an individual’s preferences.  This phenomena is analogous to the explosion of “how to” videos on YouTube.
            The problem is monetizing talk shows on the Internet.  Monetizing an AM radio show is problematic as well.  We may be in the era where doing a Talk show is a hobby, a form of vanity publishing, and/or a way to promote a business or institution.
            Internet distribution turns on its head the model that an over-the-air radio station is the foundation platform from which programmers may branch into a station’s website and social media.  Here we start with an Internet aggregator and a strong website complimented by social media (Facebook and Twitter.)  Then the host/producer offers the program to AM stations that are robotically rebroadcasting syndicated shows and selling bartered time.
            It’s the Wild West for distribution of Talk programming.  It will be fascinating and important to see how it all shakes out.  We’d love to hear from our readers about experiences you may have had either as a producer or listener to such programming.

Larry Johnson is President/North American Radio for Paragon Media Strategies. Reach him at 831-655-5036 or via e-mail at ljohnson@paragonmediastrategies.com