By Richard S. Towne, KUNM General Manager

You might have participated in our recent Tech Survey 2018 – the online survey that checks in with your use of radio and television, while tracking growth in use of online and mobile sources for media content. The annual survey, produced by Jacobs Media, allows us to track changes from year to year. The survey is offered to public and commercial stations around the country. At the end of the day, we will get to see what our listeners say, along with the national results.

KUNM has had about 300 respondents so far. That is a good number for us and we look forward to sharing our results with you next month. The survey has probably closed by the time you are seeing this but it might be open. You can always check our homepage to see if the Tech Survey is still live.

Jacobs Media has started to release top level findings for commercial media. I am not familiar enough with the historical data to tell you if there is a correlation between commercial and public radio survey results. So, here is what Jacobs says are top findings for commercial media:

“More than nine in ten respondents spend at least one hour a day with radio and/or television/video.

“Regular radios” (AM/FM) that people use in homes are disappearing. Only about two-thirds of Millennials have a working radio they use where they live.

Smart speakers are growing rapidly. More than one-fifth own a device like an Amazon Echo or Google Home – nearly double the Tech Survey 2017’s totals.

Mobile devices are in more hands than ever. Nine in ten respondents have a smartphone; seven in ten have a tablet – both up from last year’s survey.

More than half now use Netflix on a weekly basis or more often, punctuating a rise in other streaming brands, including YouTube, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.

Nearly one-fourth of all respondents listen to a podcast at least weekly, an increase from Tech Survey 2017.”

I’ll get you the Public Radio results next month. Please stay tuned. Thanks for helping us serve the community.

By Mary Oishi, Development Director

Everyone knows KUNM has a great local news team. It’s no surprise they’re winning a new award just about every other month. Journalism is an honorable profession and a crucial one, and we have some really stellar journalists here. Many radio stations carry national news. We do too, of course. However, it’s much less common for radio to invest in local news. At KUNM, we think it’s important—and have made a deep commitment to it.

Something else that’s increasingly uncommon—even in public radio—is to have community volunteers come in and host shows. Music on most stations is beamed in by satellite, pre-recorded for airing on many stations nationwide. Some of them are worthwhile, of course. But there’s something really amazing about a local musician like Patti Littlefield or Karl Stalnaker or Ijah or Ron Hale or Claude Stephenson selecting music in the genres they know and love. Then there’s the historians and musicologists who are such a wealth of knowledge, they educate us in depth with what they choose and the words they weave between sets, long time hosts like Mark Weber and Putnay and the Rock N’ Roll Doctor.

Every single local music host puts their heart and soul into their show, from the Freeformers to the weekend hosts like Rachel Maurer and Adam Aguirre and Cecilia Webb and the Singing Wire crew, from long-timers to brand new hosts. They carefully curate each set, constructing an audio collage that keeps you listening—and coming back for more.

When I host a show, I try to make it a 3-hour story. Recently the stories were about Earth Day and Mother’s Day and a Singalong of blues musicians covering popular songs. I figure if I am captivated by the story, maybe it will hold your interest too. This month I will tell the story of the Rainbow Blues. I don’t have to talk much: the songs tell the story so well.

I appreciate the opportunity to do this kind of audio artistry. I identify with Randy Kolesky when he says, “Feeling fortunate to be bringing you the jazz.” Yeah. We’re grateful that KUNM gives us this opportunity. And we’re so glad you support the artistry of the KUNM DJs—with your ears and with your gifts. On behalf of all of us, thank you.

By Rashad Mahmood