Jacobs Media Techsurvey9 Profiles News/Talk Fans

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, May 21, 2013 | 3:21pm CT

In Jacobs Media's tech study of core radio listeners, News/Talk radio fans deliver a powerful message about news and information -- on and off the radio. For this audience, it is all about information and they gravitate to multiple sources -- beyond the radio to get it. According to Jacobs Media President Fred Jacobs, "News/Talk fans are especially likely to start their day with radio, but from there, it's tablets, satellite radio, on demand, and a host of other information sources."

Some of key takeaways include:

News & information myopia
More so than any of the other 11 format fan groups, NewsTalk partisans are most likely to begin their day with broadcast radio. More than half (54%) wake up to a radio station, especially at home.

The news appetite
While they love their news and talk programming, they are less likely to be heavy radio listeners than fans of other formats. They are also less apt to be heavy users of the station that sent them this survey and less likely to recommend it to others. While their public radio weekly listening is only average, they have a much greater propensity to be SiriusXM subscribers.

Information please
While fans of music formats often cite emotional reasons for listening to the radio (escape, companionship, etc.), NewsTalk devotees have a singular focus on information when they listen to the radio. While nearly three-fourths say that news, traffic, and weather info is paramount (74%), other key motivators include shows and hosts, as well as emergency information.

"Got tablets"
More than four in ten NewsTalk fans own a tablet-among the highest of the 12 formats included in Techsurvey9. And these respondents are more likely to be toting around an Apple tablet.

Building strong relationships
While three-fourths have a social media profile of one kind or another, the road to building better bonds with NewsTalk fans is via the email club. And beyond Facebook, LinkedIn is a strong second social choice for NewsTalk partisans.

In the next few weeks, Jacobs Media will be hosting webinars from Techsurvey9 for Sports Radio (May 29), Rock/Classic Rock/Alternative (June 4) and AC/CHR/Hot AC (June 10). Techsurvey9 results were gathered online from January 29 to February 19. Overall, 264 broadcast stations across the U.S. and Canada participated, contributing 78,111 total respondents.