Radio newsrooms are once again becoming profitable as America slowly recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. A joint survey from The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) and Newhouse School at Syracuse University indicated more than 10% of the stations polled reported an uptick in revenue.
"Radio news profitability in 2022 looks a lot like 2021, edging up ever so slightly," says the report, authored by Bob Papper and Keren Henderson. Last year 12% of radio newsrooms reported a profit. This year that rose slightly to 12.2%.
Inside Radio first reported the survey results. Researchers indicated no discernable patterns between staff size or the number of stations in a cluster or market.
"However, major markets are where most of the non-profit stations are located. Stations in the Northeast were less likely to be profitable and more likely to report losses than any other region," the report added.
The survey indicated that 10% of station revenue came from news. But the median — or typical — percentage was just 5%. The average is down from last year's 13.4%, but the median is identical to the last four years.
The report revealed smaller stations were more likely to get their news from an outside service. Geography made a difference, with stations in the South and Midwest less likely than others to use an outside contractor.
Both large markets and small markets rose in web profitability, with the biggest gains in small markets.
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