As in years past, the situation in traditional radio newsrooms appears to be one of consolidation. The great majority of stations delivering news now do so through joint newsrooms, and the situation in those newsrooms looks increasingly complicated.
The 2006 survey of radio news directors conducted by Bob Papper of Ball State University found that over 70% of the news directors provide local news to their stations through a centralized newsroom. The average number of stations that those centralized newsrooms serve is 3.3, according to Papper’s study. [1] [1] What’s more, over a third of news directors reported overseeing five or more stations.
Some observers worry that because the data come from a relatively small sample — 209 radio news directors representing 613 stations — it is risky to draw year-to-year comparisons. But the study is the richest data source the industry has to understand what is going on inside newsrooms, and the one most relied upon.
Those newsrooms are likely to be stretched even further as they begin to address the challenge from new media. As technology evolves and the definition of radio broadens, traditional radio will have to embrace new platforms in order to supply what its audience is demanding from other digital listening formats. The newsrooms will have to begin producing for multiple platforms as well.
For Jeff Smulyan, Chairman & CEO of Emmis Communications, that means appealing to youth. In an interview with Radio Business Report on the future of radio, Smulyan declared that young people are most concerned with getting what they want when they want it. “Our task in this business is to make sure we provide that. That will mean we embrace other platforms in the process.”[2] [1]
Others say the future of radio news must emphasize unique talk personalities and local content. Saga Communications’ president and CEO, Ed Christian, told Talkers Magazine that the radio industry had strayed from its core product of localism. “When we talk about localism now, it’s a mile wide and an inch deep. We need to go a mile wide and a mile deep. There are those opportunities in every market,” he said.[3] [1] Still others emphasize the content. Lee Abrams, senior vice president of XM Satellite Radio said, “Ultimately, whether it’s AM, FM, satellite, Internet or some new technology, the best content is going to win, assuming people have equal access to the signals.”[4] [1]
But it remains to be seen what the public considers to be quality content: whether it’s a very expensive national contract with Howard Stern or a rural station’s local personality discussing the pros and cons of a new community center.
Amount of News
Based on the most recent data from the 2006 RTNDA/Ball State survey, the average radio station in 2005 broadcast 37.1 minutes a day of locally produced news during the week, 2.3 minutes less than the previous year’s 39.4 minutes.[5] [1] Over half of that total (20.2 minutes) was broadcast during the morning commute hours, leaving the rest of the day with a meager supply of radio news.
The declines in news minutes, though, were not the same across the various market sizes. In general, the smaller the market, the more dedication to local news. Major markets (over 1 million potential listeners) cut their supply of local news by over 50%, falling from 93.5 minutes in 2004 to just 42 minutes in 2005.[6] [1] Large markets (250,000 to 1 million listeners) also reduced their local news, though by less, going from 52.1 minutes in 2004 to 41.5 minutes in 2005.
By contrast, small and medium markets provided more news to their stations than they had in past years. Small markets (less than 50,000 listeners) increased local news by almost seven minutes in the average weekday to 42 minutes, more than the national average for radio stations.[7] [1] Medium markets (50,000 to 250,000 listeners) also upped their supply of local news, going from about 23 minutes in 2004 to 29 minutes in 2005.
As for the future, the majority of news directors (67%) said they expected to maintain the levels of news where it was.[8] [1] Just over a quarter (28%) said they planned to increase the supply. Only 1% said that they would reduce the amount.
Those expectations are the opposite of the previous year’s. Almost two-thirds (64%) of news directors in 2004 said that they would lower the amount of news they broadcast on their radio stations.[9] [1] And indeed 2005 saw a major decline, noted above, in the amount of news offered in major and large markets.
Newsroom Size
The composition of newsrooms has certainly been changing over the years, as well. As noted earlier, the average number of stations that a news director serves is 3.3, according to the RTNDA news director survey. That is down slightly from the previous year’s data, which reported 3.75 stations per average news director.[10] [1]
Also down, though, is the percent of news directors who oversee just one newsroom —17% in the 2006 report compared to 27% in 2005.[11] [1]
If the survey is an indication of what to expect in the future, then it seems that radio news departments may have reached a sticking point, at least temporarily. Of the news directors surveyed in 2005, about 78% said they would keep their news staffs the same for the coming year. A much smaller number, 13%, planned to increase their news staffs. These expectations were in line with what they reported of their news staff changes for 2005 — 77% said that their staffs had remained the same, 16% reported that they had increased their staffs, and only 6% reported that their staffs had been reduced.[12] [1]
Radio Salaries
Radio professionals continue to be low-paid, and the situation is not improving. Salaries in traditional radio newsrooms as a whole dropped 4.4% from 2004 to 2005, according to the RTNDA/Ball State University annual news director survey, a considerable decline considering the small up-tick of 3.2% in 2004.[13] [1]
Salary cuts hit news producers the hardest as their median salaries plummeted by nearly 50%, going from $38,000 in 2004 to $20,500 in 2005.[14] [1] News directors and news anchors both lost about 9% of their median salaries from 2004 to 2005, with directors going from $33,000 to $30,000 and news anchors going from $26,000 to $23,500. Those drops, however, came after major salary increases from 2003 to 2004, namely a $13,000 jump for news producers. As for radio news reporters, their median salaries showed a slight rise in 2005, increasing $500 to $25,000. Sports anchors also saw a rise in median salary, going from $27,000 in 2004 to $32,500 in 2005.
The likely explanation for the dramatic fluctuations, especially with regard to news producers, is that there are relatively few news producers at radio stations anymore, making any change look more dramatic. The sample size for radio reporters and news directors is larger, making those more stable indicators of salary patterns.
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1994 - 2005
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Source: Bob Papper, RTNDA/Ball State University Annual News Director Survey “Where the Jobs Are,” RTNDA Communicator, June 2006.
Note: Based on survey responses of news directors |
Radio news salaries remain below those of television. Radio news directors make less than half of what their television counterparts make: $30,000 versus $75,000, according to the RTNDA/Ball State survey.[15] [1] The gap between the two broadcast media grew in 2005 as the radio news directors’ median salaries dropped $3,000, while television news directors’ median salaries rose by $2,000. Similarly, salaries for radio news anchors were about half of their television counterparts: $23,500 compared to $58,500. That gap also grew from the previous year. The difference in salaries between news reporters of the two media, however, is not as great — $25,000 for radio and $28,000 for television. Though radio news producers once stood out above their counterparts in television, that trend reversed in 2005, giving television news producers almost $9,000 more in earning power.
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Survey of news directors, 2005
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Source: 2006 RTNDA/Ball State Newsroom Survey
Note: Based on survey responses of news directors |
As newsrooms move to a business model that serves not one but several stations, are they able to offer their staffs more enticing salaries? Survey responses in the RTNDA study are inconclusive. While there are certainly fewer newsrooms serving only one station, it does not appear that salaries have increased much despite the added responsibility of serving more stations. Except for a dip in salaries in newsrooms that serve 2 to 3 stations, news directors maintain consistent salaries regardless of the number of stations they serve. Reporters, on the other hand, must serve at least four stations before they earn more than $20,000.
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Survey of news directors, 2005
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Source: Bob Papper, RTNDA/Ball State University Annual News Director Survey “Where the Jobs Are,” RTNDA Communicator, June 2006.
Note: Based on survey responses of news directors. |
As far as the size of the newsroom goes, significant salary jumps occurred for news directors, anchors and reporters in larger newsrooms, those with five or more full-time staff members. For anchors and reporters, this is probably because these positions don’t exist in the smallest of newsrooms. Salaries for news producers, on the other hand, stayed pretty much the same regardless of the size of the newsroom.
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Survey of news directors, 2005 |
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Source: Bob Papper, RTNDA/Ball State University Annual News Director Survey “Where the Jobs Are,” RTNDA Communicator, June 2006.
Note: Based on survey responses of news directors. |
Comparing newsroom salaries according to the ownership structure of stations shows a couple of contrasting patterns. News anchors and news producers at independent stations received higher median salaries than at group-owned stations. But compared to the previous year, overall salaries for radio staff at independently owned stations suffered more in 2005 than for their counterparts at group-owned stations. The one exception to that trend was that the median salary of news producers at independently owned newsrooms outpaced that of producers at group-owned newsrooms, a reversal of the situation in the previous year.
Public Radio
Public radio, led by NPR, has been making new strides in the newsroom to deliver public radio to more ears, and eyes via the Web. The year 2006 marked a major initiative by NPR to understand how it could help public radio stations strengthen their relationships with their listeners. The initiative was called “New Realities” and sent NPR staff members across the country early in the year to talk to hundreds of station leaders about the future of public radio. The discussions resulted in the Blueprint for Growth, released in July. Among other things, the blueprint stresses the need to encourage listener participation and create more of a conversation between NPR, its audience and its member stations. Online, NPR plans to combine this new, expanded content with its older material to build what they call “an open archive.”[16] [1]
In July Bill Marimow, then vice president of NPR’s news division, told Current magazine that “The goal in the long term is to make sure that everything we produce for broadcast has an online, podcast, cellular phone component to it. That’s a long ways away, but we’re moving in that direction.”[17] [1]
Besides the digital push that NPR is forging, public radio broadcasters are also looking for ways to draw in younger audiences. One of the new programs that NPR tested in 2006 was a two-hour morning newsmagazine aimed at listeners aged 25 to 44. The program borrows news topics from Morning Edition and All Things Considered, but makes them lighter and more relevant to relatively young audiences by featuring feedback from that age range and a more casual reporting style. The program is being promoted on podcasts, Web streams and HD radio multicast channels.
New Audio Investments
One of the latest threats to traditional radio is an auxiliary jack that is being included in new cars. The “AUX” option can be used to plug any portable audio device into the car’s stereo system, (including a guitar, as seen in the Volkswagen commercials with the Guns’n’Roses guitar legend Slash, and another with John Mayer, rocking out through car speakers). More commonly, consumers will be plugging in their iPods, Zunes (a new Microsoft digital media player released in November) or other MP3 players. Though industry fears are high, it’s uncertain whether the new device will affect traditional radio listening any more than the introduction of cassette players and 6-disc CD changers in cars. The only difference is that the stack of audio options is growing. And it certainly won’t stop with the AUX plug. Some automobile manufacturers are more seamlessly embracing the iPod into their audio features by eliminating the need to even touch the actual MP3 player, enabling the car’s stereo functions to control the song selection. And still other cars, like some Volvo and Mercedes-Benz models , are being outfitted with USB ports and hard drives. Next up? Wireless cars.[18] [1]
The iPod is seen by many analysts as a greater threat to traditional radio than satellite radio. Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, has predicted that 70% of new cars sold in the U .S . by the end of 2007 will offer iPod connections as an option.[19] [1] That is particularly threatening because the car is typically seen as the primary domain for radio listening, especially during the morning and evening commute hours when advertising rates are highest. Also, six major airlines agreed in November 2006 to program their in-flight entertainment systems to accommodate iPods beginning in mid-2007.
Radio is teaming up with mobile marketers to turn radio advertising campaigns into an interactive experience through a listener’s cell phone. Katz Radio partnered with the mobile marketing firm HipCricket, to announce the launch of a mobile messaging and advertising service called Katz Mobile on October 11.[20] [1] The service uniquely lets radio listeners receive consumer coupons through their cell phones in response to advertising and promotions that they hear on the radio. Katz Radio’s president, Mark Gray, said individual stations or advertisers could choose to offer interactive features like quizzes or polls to increase interest and activity , and , of course, to increase advertising revenue. Clear Channel, ABC Radio, Fox Sports Radio, Cox Radio, Premiere Radio Networks and Westwood One have been using similar HipCricket services.
Radio Newsroom Diversity
Radio newsrooms, long disproportionately male and Caucasian, are becoming more so, according to the latest data.
The RTNDA/Ball State University annual survey of newsrooms found the percentage of minorities in the radio newsroom fell to 6.4% in 2005, the latest year available, its lowest level since the survey began.[21] [1] A year earlier the number was 8%, which in turn was down from 11.8% in 2003.
The majority of the decline from 2004 to 2005 came from declining numbers of Hispanics (down to 1.9% from 6%) in the radio newsrooms. The numbers of blacks (up to 2.5% from .7%) and Asian-Americans (up to 1.8% from .7%), however, actually climbed a bit.[22] [1]
The top positions in radio newsrooms are even more homogenous. Almost 96% of radio news directors are Caucasian, as are almost 98% of radio general managers.[23] [1]
Looked at another way, only 12.4% of all radio newsrooms in 2005 even had minorities on staff.[24] [1] The number fell almost 5% from the year before. On a positive note, minorities in major and large markets fared better, with minorities making up 46.7% and 21.1% of those news staffs, respectively.
The situation for women is better than that for minorities, but a far cry from equilibrium. Women made up just shy of 25% of the workforce in radio newsrooms in 2005, which is fairly consistent with years past.[25] [1] But just over half (52.7%) of radio newsrooms across the country operate without any women on their staffs. Approximately one out of five news directors (20.4%) were women in 2005, down about 4% from the previous year (24.7%). There is no clear pattern regarding the size of markets in which women are more likely to be included or to hold top positions.
Footnotes
1. Bob Papper, RTNDA/Ball State University Annual News Director Survey, “News, Staffing and Profitability,” The Communicator, October 2006. Survey responses came from 209 radio news directors and general managers representing 613 radio stations.
2. Radio Business Report, October 16, 2006.
3. Kevin Casey, Talkers Magazine, “The Future of the Stick,” November, 2006.
4. Ibid.
5. Bob Papper, RTNDA/Ball State University Annual News Director Survey, “News, Staffing and Profitability,” RTNDA Communicator, October 2006.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Bob Papper, RTNDA/Ball State University Annual News Director Survey, “News, Staffing and Profitability Survey,” RTNDA Communicator, October 2005.
10. Bob Papper, RTNDA/Ball State University Annual News Director Survey, “News, Staffing and Profitability Survey, ” RTNDA Communicator, October 2006.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Bob Papper, RTNDA/Ball State University Annual News Director Survey “Where the Jobs Are”, RTNDA Communicator, June 2006.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. “A Blueprint for Growth: Moving from Current Realities to New Realities,” NPR. Available online at http://www.current.org/pbpb/npr/NPRBlueprintForGrowthJuly06.pdf
17. Mike Janssen and Steve Behrens, Current magazine, “NPR working with stations ‘can be much, much stronger, ’ ” July 17, 2006.
18. Joseph B. White, Wall Street Journal, “Car Audio Faces the Music,” October 9, 2006.
19. Radio Business Report, “Assessing the iPod threat,” October 6, 2006.
20. Erik Sass, Online Media Daily, “Katz Radio Launches Mobile Ad Services,” October 13, 2006.
21. Bob Papper, RTNDA/Ball State University Annual Survey, “Year of Extremes,” RTNDA Communicator, July/August 2006.
22. Ibid.
23. Ibid.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.