Strategic and Key Insights

Explore the results from our 2024 nationwide survey on unmet public media needs, based on responses from over 30,000 participants across The United States.

Strategic Imperatives

1. Double down on local storytelling.

2. Lean into local experiences and music discovery.

3. Lift up the communities you serve.

4. Meet people where they are.

5. Make the case to donors and funders.

RUN_Strategic_Imperatives — Download RUN Strategic Imperatives

Executive Summary

There is a strong need for community and live local connection

A mistrust and skepticism of authority

A desire for uplifting content

And a lack of awareness and engagement with public radio.

Public media is well-positioned to deliver on unmet needs and community-building services.

RUN Executive Summary Front — Download RUN Executive Summary

“City Square Associates recently put the wraps on their RUN project, zeroing in on unmet needs in markets all over the country. It would be time well spent for public radio broadcasters to analyze this data, especially regionally or locally where available…”

Fred Jacobs · JacobsMedia (2025)

Trust, Solutions and Connection: Why Community Radio Matters

“A national “Researching Unmet Needs” study, based on 30,000 respondents, shows Americans are asking for three things above all else:

Trust: stories about their city, town or neighborhood.
Solutions: journalism that highlights how communities are responding, not just what’s wrong.
Connection: music and culture that help people feel part of something bigger…”

Rima Dael · RadioWorld (2025)

How public radio can meet the needs of today’s audiences

“Public radio understands its own needs and the needs of a devoted following of members. But when it comes to broader community needs, it takes time, effort and research to get the full picture. Fortunately, Public Media Content Collective and our partners at Station Resource Group, Greater Public and City Square Associates worked together to do the research on your behalf…”

Abby Goldstein · Current (2025)

For Radio, Do All Roads Lead To LOCAL?

“City Square aggregated 32 research studies conducted for public radio stations across the country, in search of common themes that reoccurred across many different markets and public radio formats. The key finding that led off their effort? Local matters…”

Fred Jacobs · Jacobs Media (2025)

Study finds conservatives and liberals want similar things from public media

“Researching Unmet Needs, commissioned last year by the Station Resource Group, Public Media Content Collective and Greater Public was conceived well before the 2024 election. It was not conducted to arm public media advocates with field-tested talking points on how to best make the case for supporting public media in today’s partisan atmosphere. Instead, its goal was to help public radio meet its mission of serving all Americans…”

Craig Helmstetter · Current (2025)

Leverage audience data to build trust and serve your community radio station

“NFCB is also collaborating with City Square Associates on a national survey powered by Greater Public, Station Resource Group, and the Public Media Content Collective to assess unmet needs for news, stories, and music at both national and community levels. This geo-spatial analysis examines multiple national data sets to explore people’s access to free news, information, and music…”

Sarah Mead · NFCB.org (2024)

It’s time for public radio to fix problems in its foundation

“RUN 2024 is designed to identify the unmet needs of music and news and consumers in all 50 states and look for opportunities where public media is uniquely positioned to meet those needs. Our study includes local market modules that will give public broadcasters important data and insights into their own service areas…”

Abby Goldstein · Current (2024)

RUN University

Explore our online webinars and resources to gain deeper insights into the RUN data and how it can inform your strategies in fundraising, marketing, and music and news programming.