JMS

WETA waves goodbye to a short-lived news and info format and goes all-classical, in an unusual swap with a commercial owner that was dropping DC’s last classical signal.

You can read all about it in the blogosphere, and I’ll reward Marc Fisher’s most linked post with another.

On a macro level it’s the right instinct to differentiate DC’s public radio formats, as the Public Radio Capital folks drive home:

it is widely agreed that if Classical Music and News & Information can be separated on two different stations, each channel will generate both the audience and subsequent revenue…

But apart from being a friend and fan of (now ex?) Program Director Maxie Jackson (who is also on board for a still-secret upcoming PRX project) I have a hard time being enthused about a new classical service even if it some how rounds out a format mix.

Internet radio, on-demand audio, and the deepest offerings of new online music services are a better match for the classical fan than the rare asset of a big signal in our nation’s capital — even if the adoption rate for new platforms and devices hasn’t caught up to terrestrial’s reach yet.

The announcement sent me Googling for the SRG/PRPD/Walrus “Classical Core Values” study from a few years ago, whose findings broke down like this:

‹ We found that the primary benefit provided by classical music radio is stress relief. In twelve focus groups across six markets, respondents told us over and over that they use and value the classical music format because “it is soothing.”

‹ However, we found that stress relief alone is not a sufficient reason for classical listeners to use a music station. They told us that classical music is not only soothing but also intelligent unlike the pop music heard on smooth jazz or soft rock stations.

‹ The second major benefit provided by classical stations is clarity of mind. With a clear mind classical listeners can focus like Zen monks, concentrate on a task and do better work, whether on the computer, in the studio or in the shop.

‹ Thirdly, classical music radio provides an escape from contemporary culture, which target listeners perceive as decadent and ugly. The classical format serves as a refuge that preserves the beauty and majesty of a better time.

‹ Most of our respondents use classical music to escape from the problems of the world. Accordingly, they mostly avoid the NPR newsmagazines. While NPR news in depth attracts societally conscious listeners, it drives away most classical music listeners.

‹ We found that listeners who use commercial classical stations share the same values as classical listeners who access the format through public radio stations. They are the same kind of people.

‹ Classical listeners do not care whether their local station is licensed to be commercial or public. They care that it is classical. However, they object to any announcement, promo, spot or pitch break that “sounds like a commercial” and thus disrupts their serenity.

‹ Classical listeners use the station for gratification of their private, internal needs. Yet through the station they identify with a small community of enlightened others. Having a classical station in the market means that there is still some hope for civilization.

As I understand it this report caused some consternation among public service programmers who aspire to more than soothing their listeners and catering to their private, internal needs.

And even though this is a victory of sorts for our friends at the National Endowment for the Arts — whose November report argued for this exact kind of effort (and in a city where NEA staff can tune in and listen!) — it’s high time for new approaches that broaden public radio’s reach to new audiences who are living in a far more diverse world and a convergent media than traditional public radio formats reflect.