Introduction About Radio

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Radio best illustrates media specialization and segmentation. It once was dominated by national networks comparable to those we now associate with television. Originally, there were four national networks—ABC, CBS, NBC, and the Mutual Broadcasting System—but what remains of them is primarily news services. Today, however, radio has become a segmented medium. Thirty-four national radio networks are currently in existence, compared with twenty-three in Omega Seamaster Replica 1990 and just nine in 1974. Some of them provide 24-hour-a-day adult popular, Top 40, jazz, classical, or country and western music. Two factors have contributed to the proliferation of networks. One is an increase in the number of radio stations from about 4,000 in 1968 to nearly 10,000 ten years later, and to 12,262 in 1998.56 The second is an effort by advertisers to reach specialized audiences (see Chapter 5 on ratings and revenues). For example, only 30 of the 9,993 commercial radio stations in the country play classical music, yet most of them are ...
... profitable. There is a recognizable public demand for classical music, and advertisers are eager to reach the audience such programming attracts.

Although music, news, and sports constitute the bulk of network fare, the radio dial is increasingly filling up with daily, weekly, or monthly "long-form" programming, from music/variety series like NBC's Live from the Hard Rock Cafe to national talk/call-in shows, many inspired by the phenomenal success of Mutual Radio's Larry King Show and the syndicated Rush Limbaugh Show.

Advertisers want their commercials to reach particular consumers, and to compete with other stations for these consumers, stations need the resources of networks—par-ticularly programming they could not afford to produce themselves. Some networks are regional, such as the New York Yankees baseball network. Others are national but aimed at a particular ethnic group, such as the Black Radio Network, a news source geared toward African Americans that has 168 affiliates. Although radio generally is considered a local medium, this claim is open to dispute. About one-fifth of all radio stations in the United States use one of the national networks for their music programming, and most stations rely on national services for their news programming.58 As a result, although programs may be beamed from a local station, the programming can originate elsewhere.

One unusual network, National Public Radio (NPR), took to the air in October 1970. Beginning with 90 member stations, it had grown to 593 in 1997. NPR produces forty-six hours a week of original national programming from its Washington, D.C., headquarters, and more than half of that is news and public affairs, including its well-known news program All Things Considered, which airs nationally during after-noon drive time and attracts 7.2 million listeners a week.59 In the early 1990s, NPR started Talk of the Nation, a 2-hour radio call-in program, which addresses political, social, and scientific issues. Every week, nearly 19.3 million listeners tune their radios to hear NPR programming.

A comparable public network, American Public Radio, was formed in 1982. Many stations carry programming from both NPR Breitling Replica and APR. In July 1994, APR changed its name to Public Radio International. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI has 530 affiliate stations that can subscribe to any mix of the more than 300 hours per week of programs that PRI transmits each week via satellite. PRI broadcasts the business news program Marketplace, the Christian Science Monitor's Monitor Radio, and variety programs such as the quiz show what do you Know and the long running Prairie Home Companion. Total listenership for PRI is about 18 million per week on 591 stations.

Along with a small number of noncommercial radio stations, such as the Pacifica Radio Network, PRI and NPR are among the few sources of in-depth news on radio. Most news coverage on commercial radio is satellite-delivered headline services.

Radio best illustrates media specialization and segmentation. It once was dominated by national networks comparable to those we now associate with television. Originally, there were four national networks—ABC, CBS, NBC, and the Mutual Broadcasting System—but what remains of them is primarily news services. Today, however, radio has become a segmented medium. Thirty-four national radio networks are currently in existence, compared with twenty-three in Omega Seamaster Replica 1990 and just nine in 1974. Some of them provide 24-hour-a-day adult popular, Top 40, jazz, classical, or country and western music. Two factors have contributed to the proliferation of networks. One is an increase in the number of radio stations from about 4,000 in 1968 to nearly 10,000 ten years later, and to 12,262 in 1998.56 The second is an effort by advertisers to reach specialized audiences (see Chapter 5 on ratings and revenues). For example, only 30 of the 9,993 commercial radio stations in the country play classical music, yet most of them are profitable. There is a recognizable public demand for classical music, and advertisers are eager to reach the audience such programming attracts.

Although music, news, and sports constitute the bulk of network fare, the radio dial is increasingly filling up with daily, weekly, or monthly "long-form" programming, from music/variety series like NBC's Live from the Hard Rock Cafe to national talk/call-in shows, many inspired by the phenomenal success of Mutual Radio's Larry King Show and the syndicated Rush Limbaugh Show.

Advertisers want their commercials to reach particular consumers, and to compete with other stations for these consumers, stations need the resources of networks—par-ticularly programming they could not afford to produce themselves. Some networks are regional, such as the New York Yankees baseball network. Others are national but aimed at a particular ethnic group, such as the Black Radio Network, a news source geared toward African Americans that has 168 affiliates. Although radio generally is considered a local medium, this claim is open to dispute. About one-fifth of all radio stations in the United States use one of the national networks for their music programming, and most stations rely on national services for their news programming.58 As a result, although programs may be beamed from a local station, the programming can originate elsewhere.

One unusual network, National Public Radio (NPR), took to the air in October 1970. Beginning with 90 member stations, it had grown to 593 in 1997. NPR produces forty-six hours a week of original national programming from its Washington, D.C., headquarters, and more than half of that is news and public affairs, including its well-known news program All Things Considered, which airs nationally during after-noon drive time and attracts 7.2 million listeners a week.59 In the early 1990s, NPR started Talk of the Nation, a 2-hour radio call-in program, which addresses political, social, and scientific issues. Every week, nearly 19.3 million listeners tune their radios to hear NPR programming.

A comparable public network, American Public Radio, was formed in 1982. Many stations carry programming from both NPR Breitling Replica and APR. In July 1994, APR changed its name to Public Radio International. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI has 530 affiliate stations that can subscribe to any mix of the more than 300 hours per week of programs that PRI transmits each week via satellite. PRI broadcasts the business news program Marketplace, the Christian Science Monitor's Monitor Radio, and variety programs such as the quiz show what do you Know and the long running Prairie Home Companion. Total listenership for PRI is about 18 million per week on 591 stations.

Along with a small number of noncommercial radio stations, such as the Pacifica Radio Network, PRI and NPR are among the few sources of in-depth news on radio. Most news coverage on commercial radio is satellite-delivered headline services.