Radio's social media decline: Facebook drops and X plunges
By Bob Papper and Keren Henderson
Aug. 27, 2024 — The latest RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University Survey found that the biggest change in radio social media came in the drop in use of Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter.
Radio’s use of X plummeted in the last year. Overall, “constant” use dropped by over six points; “daily” use dropped by six-and-a-half, and “no” use rose by nearly 13. This year, for the first time, a majority of radio stations said they don’t use X.
The bigger the market, the bigger the drop in using X. Last year, just 14.3% of major market radio stations reported they did not use X; now it’s 50%. Large market non-use went up by over 20 points.
It’s not an earth-shattering change, but virtually every group has dropped in the use of Facebook. Interestingly, the larger the market, the less likely that the station has a Facebook page. However, the vast majority of stations still have a Facebook page, and the decreases in numbers are relatively insignificant, except for major market stations, which experienced a 17 point decline. Commercial stations are down by five while non-commercial stations are up by less than a point.
About the Authors
Bob Papper is Research Professor of Broadcast and Digital Journalism at Syracuse University and has worked extensively in radio and TV news.
Keren Henderson is Associate Professor of Broadcast and Digital Journalism at Syracuse University.
This research was supported by the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and the Radio Television Digital News Association.
About the Survey
The RTDNA/Newhouse School at Syracuse University Survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2023 among all 1,876 operating, non-satellite television stations and a random sample of 4,764 radio stations. The television response rate is different for every question, but Valid responses came from as many as 1,387 television stations (73.9%) and 631 radio news directors and general managers representing 1,902 radio stations. Some data sets (e.g. the number of TV stations originating local news, getting news from others and women TV news directors) are based on a complete census and are not projected from a smaller sample.