THE CHANGING FACE OF FACEBOOK • NIELSEN RATINGS FOR SPOKANE, FORT COLLINS & PUEBLO

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According to a report in the Wall Street Journal [link], Facebook has asked large U.S. banks to share detailed financial information about customers as it seeks to boost user engagement with the social media site.   

The Journal says Facebook has talked about a feature that would show its users their checking-account balances and other private information. Facebook denied some of the claims in Journal story.

When Facebook debuted in 2008, it seemed like the arrival of an old friend. The warm vibe and ability to connect instantly with people, lulled users into giving Facebook key details of their private lives such as their age, where they live and work, the identity of their friends, family and co-workers.  

 In the beginning, trust in the motives of Facebook wasn’t an issue. But it turns out the Facebook is not a friend – it is a business that depends on profit and happy shareholders.

Now things have changed. An NBC News report in April 2018 [link] said trust in Facebook dropped 66% after it became known that Facebook had sold millions of user’s personal data to Cambridge Analytica.

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Public radio’s most essential element is listener trust. Should the public’s trust in Facebook continue to fall, association with Facebook could become toxic.  In other words, Facebook’s “stink” could become your station’s “stink.

The truth about Facebook is that you have no control over them. 

You might think you “own” your Facebook page, but you don’t. Your page lives in Facebook’s corporate space and is governed by the profit-making whims of people who may have different motives than yours.

NORTHWEST PUBLIC RADIO SLIDES A BIT IN SPOKANE • KUNC DOMINATES FORT COLLINS-GREELEY • WHERE ARE THE PUBLIC RADIO LISTENERS IN PUEBLO?

(Note: In Nielsen Audio Diary markets reflect listening by persons 12+, Monday – Sunday, 6am to Midnight)

We like to report on Spokane best it is a very busy noncommercial radio market. Listeners in Spokane can hear a bit of everything. 

In addition to the stations listed in the chart on the left, Spokane is home long-time Classical music KAGU, Jazz oriented KEWU and politics and volunteer music shows courtesy of Thin Air Community Radio on KYRS.

KPBX has three signals in the market: dual format KPBX, full-time NPR News/Talk KSFC and KPBZ, the only station we are aware of that airs PRX Remix 24/7.

The biggest changes in the Spring 2018 Nielsen Audio Ratings, compared to Spring 2017, involve Northwest Public Radio’s (NWPR) two program services. 

NWPR focused the formats of their two program streams around January 1^st – one is now full-time NPR News/Talk and the other is now full-time Classical. 

Both lost quite a few estimated weekly listeners in the past year.

Perhaps you saw our story last week [link] about the difficult time Colorado Public Radio is having establishing a major news presence in Colorado Springs.  The challenges for CPR News are similar north of Denver. KUNC owns the news position, and they have for years.

Nice to see KCSU in the “book.”  They are an excellent college station.  We managed KCSU back in the 1980s when it was a CPR-qualified NPR member that had difficulty competing head-to-head with KUNC.

Pueblo, an hour south of Colorado Springs, looks like tough town for public radio to get traction. KRCC has plenty of estimated weekly listeners but they must not be listening very long.  We checked the Nielsen ratings for Pueblo and AQH listening is dominated by stations in the local iHeart cluster.

KTSC, licensed to Colorado State University – Pueblo is spunky college station with professional programming guidance. Not only is KTSC a “player” in Pueblo, it looks like the people who work there any having fun.