I Am Not A Slacker

There are a lot of people interested in my age group, the so-called Generation X. It seems like everyone, from product marketers to demographers to program directors wants to pigeonhole who we are.

We're supposedly cynical, unresponsive, politically apathetic, vidiots.  They say we’re leeches who live with and off of our parents; are bored by anything not about us; have an attention span of 30 seconds; and are MTV and Howard Stern junkies. The list goes on and none of it is positive.

This is not me.
These are not public radio’s Gen X listeners.
We are not slackers!

AUDIENCE 98^® shows us that public radio’s Gen Xers aren’t all that different from our parents or any other generation of listeners. We too are well-educated and share the same social and cultural values – the two characteristics that predict anyone’s attraction to public radio. Okay, so we don’t make as much money as Baby Boomers but give us time and we’ll get there.

AUDIENCE 98 also tells us that three-in-four Gen X listeners say they’re listening to public radio more in the last few years. That’s what I find among my own friends. Not only are they listening more, they’re also referencing public radio in conversations. It’s an important information source in their lives.

As supported by AUDIENCE 98’s data, the majority of us know that the news on public radio is unique and we won’t find its equal on commercial stations.

Some people in our industry assume that doing more stories about Generation X, or playing the Smashing Pumpkins, will result in an influx of younger listeners.

That’s not only flawed thinking, it’s pretty insulting too.

I’m just as interested in the General Motors labor struggle and what’s happening in Kosovo as your other listeners. I even enjoy the news from Lake Wobegon. And I like my Morning Edition, Marketplace and Car Talk just fine the way they are.

The best way to serve Gen X listeners, as with all listeners, is to give us the best programming possible. Programs created "just for us" effectively tell us that we aren’t ready for grown-up radio. And they also tell your other listeners to go away.

Public radio, we love you – so I hope you don’t mind a little advice from one satisfied Gen X listener:

• You’ve already got us – not all of us, but those of us who share the education and values of your older listeners.
  
• Remember that we tune in now for a service we can’t find anywhere else.

Stick with what you’re doing and make it even better, and we Gen Xers will stick with you.

– Ingrid Lakey, NPR
AUDIENCE 98 Associate

Audience Research Analysis
Copyright © ARA and CPB.  All rights reserved.
Revised: September 01, 2000 12:38 PM.