Former KFBK talk show host Bruce Maiman authored an opinion piece that appeared in today's (11/15/09)
Sacramento Bee.
...Radio is a great medium but it's struggling. Music formats face competition from numerous platforms, making the FM dial less relevant. Listeners on the AM side are old and getting older, and none of the partisan rancor dominating the news has brought 18- to 34-year-olds to talk radio. The format is generating fewer new listeners. That is a statistical reality.
People under age 35, the demographic that is radio's future, think talk radio is lunacy. They laugh at Rush. He's "old and nuts." There's no "next generation" of Rush fans on the horizon as far as anyone can see, which doesn't bode well for guys like Glenn Beck or Sean Hannity.
Keith Olbermann? Focus groups in the 18- to 34-year-old demographic think he's a sports geek who does politics "kinda, sorta" in the Jon Stewart mold, but in their eyes, Stewart is the gold standard. They watch him not on TV but on their computers, phones and iPods. And they watch him because – this is key – he doesn't take politics seriously.
Talk radio appeals too much to political junkies and almost always at opposite ends of the spectrum: 15 percent on the far left and 15 percent on the far right. The 70 percent in the middle don't absorb themselves in politics. They're quietly trying to figure it all out and survive as best they can. They don't carry guns to rallies, they don't buy into tea parties. They read more than they react, and they have a shrewd sense of "buyer beware" about talking heads on either side of the political aisle.
Mr. Maiman's salient observations made me think, "I think I've seen this before someplace... hmmmm."
...From what I've observed in the little un-scientific (but probably as reality-based as any other) focus group called kids, nephews and neices who are in the demo, none of this Rush-Beck-Fox vs MSNBC-bruhaha has brought 18-34's (back) to talk radio. People in that demo think the artform is bullsh*t. They laugh at Rush. He's old and nuts. A nephew who did a tour of Iraq once commented, "that guy would sh*t himself about two minutes out on patrol, but he can talk tough." There's no "next generation" of Rush fans on the horizon as far as I can see. Since Rush is the #1 brand in (conservative) talk radio, what does this portend for guys like Beck, Savage and others?
The 18-34's that I've observed think Keith Olbermann is a sports geek who does politics "kinda, sorta" in the Jon Stewart mold, but Stewart is the gold standard of news-talk-opinion in their eyes and they watch him not on TV but their computers, phones and pods.
In each case, the appeal of the right wing-left wing talkers is to the 30% at opposite ends of the spectrum. The 40% in the middle are trying to figure it all out and survive best they can. They don't carry guns to rallies, they don't buy into tea parties. They read more than they react and they have a shrewd sense of buyer beware about the talking heads on either end of the political spectrum.
For a guy who's been out of radio a while and reads and posts here just to stay in touch, I'm kind of flattered that my prose left an impression on at least
one reader. BTW Bruce, if ever you get back into talk radio, I'm available for show-prep and sound bites at a reasonable price. But no barter or trade outs. -9-
