Free Riders, Givers, and Heavy Users: Predicting Listener Support for Public Radio

Abstract

The economy of public radio in the United States has been changing from dependence upon government tax dollars to self-sufficiency based on audience service. In the largest recontact study ever conducted for public radio, 30,834 public radio listeners who kept Arbitron diaries in 78 major markets were interviewed. By linking questionnaire responses to Arbitron diary data, the study determined the predictors of which listeners become givers and which givers contribute at different levels. Giving is driven by reliance upon public radio as measured by listening behavior, along with the realization that public radio has become personally important to the listener. Consistent with economic theory, giving to public radio appears to be driven by impure altruism.