2nd Annual KAXE Programming Survey

If you are one of the 197 people who completed KAXE’s second annual programming survey, THANKS!

This survey will be used to assess whether KAXE’s programming meets the policy outcomes established by Northern Community Radio’s board of directors.

All of the responses, taken together, provide a valuable statistical basis for the board’s evaluation. In addition, survey participants provided thoughtful and constructive comments based on their personal ideas and experience. KAXE appears to be achieving the board’s programming wishes!

Here are some of the things we learned:
71% of respondents listen to the Morning Show often; 23% listen sometimes.
41% of respondents listen to Phenology Plus often; 31% listen sometimes.

85% feel that KAXE’s public affairs programs achieve the goal of being regional. 85% also feel that KAXE’s public affairs programs do a good job of representing our region geographically. Just 5% feel the station is too focused on Grand Rapids, and 1% said they do not believe KAXE’s public affairs programming achieves a regional focus.

83% of survey respondents believe KAXE’s public affairs programs are informative. 90% said they learn about community events and services on KAXE. 88% said KAXE’s public affairs programs contained information that is useful to them, and 87% said they learn things they don’t learn elsewhere. 83% said KAXE’s public affairs programming is interesting.

92% said they feel welcome to call, write or email KAXE about its public affairs programs. 79% agree that KAXE is “2-way radio.” 43% of respondents have been on the air. 16% have suggested topics or helped produce programs. 71% said that KAXE’s public affairs programs have a strong emphasis on listener interaction.

92% said they get a distinct impression of northern MN “place” when they listen to KAXE’s public affairs programs. 70% said the station is inclusive of many communities and groups in northern MN; 11% said we are missing input from certain groups that would allow the shows to represent our area better. 86% said the Morning Show and Phenology Plus do portray issues and events in ways that represent our northern MN perspectives.

Participants rated the entertainment value of the Morning Show and Phenology Plus on a 0-10 scale. The Morning Show average was 8.52; Phenology Plus was 8.21. For both programs, the most often occurring rating was 10. 98% of respondents believed KAXE’s public affairs programs are entertaining.

KAXE’s most popular music program is On the River, followed by Currents. 55% of respondents listen to On the River often, and 41.3% listen to Currents often. World Café is third most popular, followed by Centerstage MN and Backporch Harmony. 52% of respondents said they listened to Backporch Harmony seldom or never. If “never” is zero, and “often” is 3, here are how the programs averaged:
On the River 2.4
Currents 2.1
World Café 2
Centerstage MN 1.8
Backporch Harmony 1.4

91% of survey takers said they had diverse, eclectic music taste. Of those, 86% can tell right away if their radios are tuned to KAXE. 69% consider KAXE’s music programming to be high quality, and 79% say the music on KAXE is authentic. 5% said KAXE’s music was to narrowly focused and another 5% preferred music that is not played on KAXE often. 70% said their diverse, eclectic musical tastes are satisfied by KAXE and 7% said their taste was not satisfied. 33% stated a preference for certain music programmers on KAXE. 72% felt it was important to be able to listen to local musicians on KAXE.

Of those who said they did not have eclectic musical taste, 50% said they prefer folk music and 44% said they prefer to listen to spoken word on the radio. 31% liked big band music; 31% like quieter, more contemplative music than what they generally hear on KAXE, and 31% like older music than what they hear on KAXE. Just 6% of this group liked rock and none expressed a preference for blues.

-Maggie Montgomery