The 2019 survey asked for just the second time what’s the most innovative thing a newsroom started doing in the last year. Out of the more than 200 responses that answered the question, digital was the top choice. Nearly half, 45.3%, of respondents said they did something that involved digital, with streaming and OTT being the most popular upgrade. Some responses were also given for digital platforms, digital first and digital specific programming. Alexa and AR technology were also mentioned.
Management was the next popular response at 35.8%, though it covered a wide range of answers. Drones was one of the most popular answers from this group, with many stations saying they increased their drone program or added new licensed drone pilots to their staff. Staffing and technical issues rounded out the top three answers under management. Some other answers addressed the addition of new equipment to the station’s toolbox.
More than 25% of radio newsrooms represented in the survey were non-profit newsrooms, a percentage that's been growing steadily for the past several years. The number of large radio newsrooms in all market sizes that participated in this year's survey, particularly large public radio newsrooms, increased significantly from past years, giving a better picture of radio newsrooms.
The median, or typical, number of news staffers per radio newsroom remains at one, but jumps to three for public radio stations. And on average, commercial radio stations employ 1.7 newsroom staffers -- up from 1.6 a year ago -- while public stations employ 6.4, up 2 from a year ago.
Public radio stations were nearly four times as likely to have increased staffing over the past year and are more than five times as likely to be planning to grow in the coming year. Just 1% of radio managers, overall, expect to lose staff in the coming year.
More commercial radio news stations report they are breaking even and fewer report a loss this year than last year, though slightly fewer report a profit. Public radio budgets are slightly growing.
Of the 26.1% of radio respondents representing non-commercial stations, nearly 30%, or twice as many as the previous year, report a budget increase in the last year, versus less than 10% of commercial stations.
According to the latest survey data, more radio stations have apps than ever, with 63% reporting having one or more apps. 70% of public stations and just under 60% of commercial stations say they have an app. Fewer radio stations report that their websites are operating at a loss, and more say it is breaking even or even making a profit. More radio stations also report increasing online content. Radio stations are growing social media strategies to include more photo- and video-based platforms and content.
No comments:
Post a Comment