After the Golden Age of Radio came to an end, most listeners tuned into radio stations to listen to music. The variety shows and talk shows that sustained radio in the early years could no longer attract enough listeners to make them a successful business proposition. However, one way that deviated from this general trend was the growth of public radio.
Groups like the Ford Foundation funded public media in the early 1960s. When the foundation decided to stop funding in the middle of the decade, the federal government intervened by passing the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. This law created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and charged it with funding public television and radio. CPB, in turn, created National Public Radio (NPR) in 1970 to provide programming for existing stations. In fact, CPB funded NPR entirely and exclusively until 1982. Public Radio’s first program was All Things Considered . . , an evening news program that focused on analysis and interpretation rather than cutting edge material. In the mid-1970s, NPR brought in Washington-based journalists such as Cokie Roberts and Linda Wertheimer, which gave the coverage a more professional and hard-hitting reporting style.
In 1983, however, public radio was on the verge of financial collapse. NPR survived in part by relying more on its member stations for fundraising campaigns, now a vital component of public radio’s business model. In 2003, Joan Kroc, widow of McDonald’s CEO and philanthropist Ray Kroc, bequeathed a grant of more than $200 million to NPR that could keep it afloat for years to come.
After weathering the financial storm, NPR continued to grow as a respected news provider. During the first Gulf War, NPR first sent correspondents to cover the unfolding events in detail. Public radio’s extensive coverage of the 2001 terrorist bombings drew many new listeners to its radio stations, and it has since expanded.
Although some accuse NPR of presenting news with a liberal bias, in 2005 its listenership was 28 percent conservative, 32 percent liberal and 29 percent moderate. Newt Gingrich, a conservative Republican and former House speaker, said the network is “much less leftist” than some might think.
Public radio broadcasters such as Public Radio International (PRI) and local public radio stations such as WBEZ in Chicago have also produced a range of cultural and entertainment programs, including quiz shows, cooking shows and many local public forum programs. Storytelling programs such as This American Life have created a new kind of free-form radio documentary genre, and shows such as the entertainment show PRI A Prairie Home Companion have revived old radio genres. This variety of popular public radio programming has transformed radio from an environment dominated by music to one that is again exploring its enormous potential.
Conglomerates
In the early 1990s, many radio stations suffered from the effects of the economic downturn. Some stations initiated local marketing agreements (LMAs) to share space and resources in the face of this economic downturn. LMAs led to industry consolidation as radio stations bought other stations to create new centers for the same programming. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 further increased consolidation by eliminating the duopoly rule prohibiting the ownership of two stations in the same market and by removing quantitative restrictions on station ownership by a single person.
As large corporations such as Clear Channel Communications bought up stations across the country, they reformatted stations that had once competed with each other so that each would focus on its own format. This practice led to the current state of mainstream radio, in which narrow formats target very specific demographics.
Ultimately, while industry consolidation in the 1990s made radio profitable, it reduced local reach and programming diversity. As stations across the country served as outlets for a single network, the radio landscape became more homogeneous and predictable. As with chain restaurants and stores, some people like this predictability, while others prefer a more localized, unique experience.