Janey Gordon is a Principal Lecturer in Media and the project co-ordinator for the University’s community radio station Radio LaB. This is Janey's presentation on measuring audiences presented to the CMA's 2014 Conference on 14th June 2014.

1. Dr Janey Gordon
Radio LaB 97.1fm
University of Bedfordshire
Generating Income-
Measuring Audiences

2. Measuring Audiences
Who has done some kind of
audience research?

3. Why Measure Audiences?
Who pays for community radio? Is their
money well spent?
• The Community (donations; in kind;
membership; subscription; fund raising
events)
• A patron (arts centre, university)
• Commercial advertising /sponsorship
• Competitive funding (grants)
• Contracts for audio skills and services
• NGOs, charities, trusts
• Government agencies

4. What are you measuring?
• Who is listening to your
community radio station?
(How many?)
• When?
• How (the technology used)?
• Why do they listen?
• What else might they enjoy?

5. Measuring Audiences
“Is anybody out there? Audience
research for community stations.”
Airflash, CMA, Summer 2006
Janey Gordon

6. The Community Radio Toolkit
- ‘Prove it’
“[Q]uantitative research
…isn’t just about proving
audience figures, it’s
about proving what you
say you do.”
Eleanor Shember-Critchley
http://www.communityradiotoolkit.net/f
eature/

7. Measuring Audiences - basics
 Use at least 100 respondents,
who are not known to you. (300-
500 ideal; 1000 max)
 The selection of respondents
should be appropriate to your
station
 Approach in an ethical and
courteous manner

8. Measuring Audiences - basics
 Q1 “What radio stations
broadcast in this area?”
 Q2 “What radio stations do you
listen to?”(prompt) “Have you
heard of CMA fm?”
 Q3 “Do you listen to CMA fm?”
 Qualitative questions
 Demographic questions

9. Measuring Audiences - basics
 Keep questions simple and to the
point
 Avoid asking for opinions unless
you really mean to (use a focus
group)
 Keep the questions to one side of
A4 if possible (Who is going to
conduct this survey?)

10. Measuring Audiences - examples
(national Au)
 Organised by CBAA and
CBonline, funded by CBF and
conducted by McNair Ingenuity
 Survey:
http://cbaa.org.au/Info_For_Stations/
2014-National-Listener-Survey
 Census
http://cbonline.org.au/what-we-
do/facts-and-figures/community-
broadcasting-station-census/

11. Measuring Audiences-
examples (local)
 Ward, E, Buckham, T, & Hallett, L
(2012) ‘Practical Community
Radio Audience Measurement’, in
Gordon, J (Ed). Community
Radio in the Twenty First
Century. Oxford: Peter Lang.

12. Measuring Audiences-
examples (local)
Future Radio, Norwich 2013
 A1: 24% of 417 respondents
had heard of Future Radio
unprompted
 A2: 54% of 417 respondents
had heard of Future Radio
following a prompt

13. Measuring Audiences-
examples (local)
Future Radio, Norwich 2013
 A3: 22% of 417 respondents
had listened to Future Radio
within the last month and a
further 13% within the last
week, 35% in all.

14. Measuring Audiences-
examples (local)
Future Radio, Norwich 2013
417 ÷ 100 × 35 =
145 respondents had
listened to Future Radio
(ie more than the 100
necessary for a sample, so
other data concerning
listening habits is valid.)

15. United States
“If you want money, you have to ask
for it.”…..
“Most people have no idea how much it
costs to run a nonprofit [community radio
station], or how nonprofits get money. If
you don’t ask them, they will simply
assume you are getting the money
somewhere [else].”

16. Measuring Audiences
 Anyone who gives you
money will want to know
what it is being used for
 Any community station can
run valid small scale
audience research!

17. Dr Janey Gordon
Radio LaB 97.1fm
University of Bedfordshire
Generating Income -
Measuring Audiences