Throughout the pandemic, radio broadcasters were forced to reinvent how they create programming, engage with audiences and keep the entertainment, companionship and critical information flowing to their local communities. During that process, radio earned people's trust, according to recent survey data from MRI-Simmons.
A Katz analysis of the latest MRI-Simmons COVID-19 Consumer Insights Study data finds radio is the most trusted medium, with 67% of adults deeming it trustworthy, or very trustworthy. Radio narrowly edges out newspapers (66%), and surpasses both network TV (62%) and cable TV (61%) in trustworthiness. Radio also out-performs both computer internet (57%) and mobile internet (51%) by double-digit margins. And more than twice as many adults consider radio trustworthy compared to social media, which came in last place at 32%.
Not only is radio a trusted medium for the average person, but also for super fans and super users of other media. “Regardless of how much additional media people consume, radio consistently holds on to consumer trust,” Katz Radio Group says in the latest edition of its “Sound Answers” insights piece. Heavy users of TV, the internet, and social media all consider radio to be more trustworthy than the respective media they consume heavily.
For example, 68% of heavy internet users consider radio to be very trustworthy/trustworthy, compared to 61% for computer internet and 56% for mobile internet among those same heavy internet users.
More heavy TV viewers trust radio (69%) than trust network TV (64%) and cable TV (63%). Nearly twice as many heavy social media users (67%) trust radio than trust social media (37%). Among heavy newspapers readers, 67% trust radio – the same percentage of heavy newspaper readers that trust newspapers. Radio also is deemed more trustworthy than magazines by heavy magazine readers by a double digit margin.
Says Katz: “As brands pay closer attention to the safety and trust of various media platforms when they place their ad dollars, they should listen to users of all media – radio is the most trustworthy.”