One day before the election, Carolyn Gilbert of NuVooDoo Media reported on research that indicates conservatives trust the information they receive from radio stations more than liberals, and this applies even to music stations. The research reveals that the difference is somewhat marginal, yet consistent and appreciable.
"Why Political Ideology Matters... To MUSIC Radio"
As a radio industry consultant, Gilbert concludes that "conservatives believe more in radio in general", and radio stations should take advantage of the fact. My knee-jerk reaction is that conservative talk radio has dominated the radio spectrum for so many years that the results are no surprise — skew conservative, garner more conservative support.
But another analysis suggests exactly the opposite for a particular segment of the radio market — streamed audio users. Audio4cast reports that streaming aggregator TuneIn data from swing states successfully predicted the outcome of the election.
More charts and analysis, after the jump
TuneIn Predicted Outcome In Swing States With Their Data
According to Audio4cast, "TuneIn looked specifically at how many listeners were tuning into political talk programming during the month of October and found more listening to liberal (so-called) democratic programming." The Audio4cast also noted an article in Politico that analyzed the election radio wars.
What we may be seeing in these results is a tendency of younger, techno-savvy voters to skew more progressive. If so, it could help to explain Rush Limbaugh's loss of nearly half of his "iAudience" since his Fluke comments:
Based upon data from Talk Stream Live
The raw data is published in a blog for Talk Stream Live. Talk Stream is an iTunes app for iPhone, iTouch and iPad. [Facebook link]
Their scope and methodology are not readily discernible. Therefore, this may be interpreted as — in some portion of the Apple-based streaming market — Limbaugh's audience share having dropped by nearly half.
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It seems entirely intuitive that the young are more more prone to adopt and use
iGadgets, and to use iTunes and/or TalkStreamLive. And it is generally acknowledged that streaming audio is the future of the radio industry. But that, in itself, doesn't herald a progressive skew for younger demographics. And we should be cautious in our conclusions, since streamed audio is just one radio market segment.
Maybe there is reason for optimism after all. CNN provides an interesting exit poll chart that may shed light, as well as bode ill for the future of right wing domination. And this could impact the future of politics, as well as the perceived politics of radio audiences:
President: Full Results, Vote by Age
The future promises to be ... interesting.
Hat tip to kos.
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