Assessment of Low-power Field: Survey Introduction
Sound Partners stresses the importance of partnerships for creating locally relevant programming and maintaining a sustainable media organization that remains an asset to its community.
In January 2005, a direct mail and email request was sent by the Benton Foundation to approximately 284 low-power stations inviting them to be a part of a survey regarding low-power producers' involvement, expectations, and problems with building and sustaining a low-power radio station.
The survey consisted of 10 questions. Fifty-eight stations responded and were invited to complete a 10-question survey. SurveyMonkey.com – a free, basic survey service was used to compile and summarize responses. A total of 23 stations responded between January 24 and June 17.
In addition, the 15 low-power producers who had responded by June 8 were asked to answer six more questions that focused more specifically on their original responses. Eight producers responded to the second set of survey questions.
Survey Highlights
While the sample size is very small, the responses illustrated some challenges associated with starting and maintaining a low-power radio station as well as shared goals and visions that are common to different LPFMs. The responses are summarized below, and a PDF of the full report can be downloaded. A PDF version of the full report can be found here.
One common goal is that of community driven programming. Approximately 60% of the radio producers report that their radio stations focus on community awareness programming, illustrating the shared mission of many stations as firmly committed to being a resource for the community. Other noted programming includes music (57.1%), youth-related (42.9%), artistic (33.3%) and cultural (33.3%). However, the ways in which these organizations reached out to their community varied greatly from established networks for community outreach to relying on their programming to attract an audience.
One common problem outlined by stations was the need for more volunteers and more committed volunteers. However, this was acknowledged as a common problem for many nonprofit organizations. One producer explained, "From discussions with other local agencies, volunteers are hard to come by in this area and we're still working on [a successful technique for recruiting volunteers]".
Volunteers are an extremely important component to ensuring a nonprofit stays viable both financially and programmatically within their communities. When asked about the ways in which stations garner financial support, 37.5% of respondents said they received most of their funding from donations, 37.5% said they also are most successful with underwriting and fundraising, while 25% were most successful with gaining funds from partners or partnerships. None of the stations surveyed found grants or membership funds a successful source for funding.
Organizations cited as potential partners for low-power stations include locally owned business underwriters, Kiwanis Club chapters, arts festivals and other events, the local full-power radio station, the local newspapers, Volunteer Fire Departments, other nearby LPFMs, retailers, other community nonprofits, and school sports teams. These partnerships offer both financial assistance as well as opportunities for programmatic collaborations.
The Benton Foundation and Sound Partners would like to thank all the low-power radio producers for contributing to this survey. Thank you also to Jennifer Harris for compiling survey responses and writing the survey report.