The Pacifica Difference

In 1999 Pacifica celebrates its 50^th anniversary, a remarkable accomplishment given its tumultuous history. As in the past, Pacifica today has enormous impact on community radio:

One-in-three listeners tuned at any moment to community radio in America is listening to Pacifica.

However, as a group, the five Pacifica stations in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, New York and Washington, DC serve their listeners no better than community radio in general.

In fact, average loyalty by Pacifica listeners to Pacifica stations is lower (17%) than community radio listeners’ loyalty to their non-Pacifica, community services (22%).

Giving is a different story. Pacifica listeners are a third more likely to give to a Pacifica station than listeners to other community stations are to give to theirs.

Because personal importance of the service is about the same for Pacifica compared to other community radio stations, the difference in giving may be explained by the difference in funding beliefs.

The critical importance of listener support, coupled with belief that government funding is minimal, is more widespread among Pacifica listeners than among any other segment of the public radio audience.

That’s perhaps unsurprising for an organization that originated the concept of "listener-sponsored" radio – as well as that boon and curse of public broadcasting, the on-air pledge drive.

– Leslie Peters
– Jay Youngclaus
AUDIENCE 98 Core Team

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