January 17, 2025

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Despite growing consumer distrust in social media, social channels remain a top media priority among media experts and buyers for 2025. This disconnect presents a real, ongoing challenge for other media working to make the case to sponsors and advertisers, especially legacy media platforms like broadcast radio. 

But a recent Katz Radio Group Media Trust Study offers some new data to strengthen the radio value proposition. 

The 2024 Katz survey found that radio tops other media in trustworthiness, with 8 in 10 adults 18+ considering it to be very trustworthy or trustworthy. Perhaps not surprisingly, social media placed last in media trustworthiness, meaning that radio is trusted by nearly three times as many adults as social media. 

While older adults (55+) expressed the most trust in radio (83%), younger adults (18-34) were found to trust at the same level as the average adult (79%). This widespread trust helped radio take the top spot in the Katz study, surpassing newspapers, TV, magazines and social media, when it comes to consumer trust.

Now for the hard part: How do we convince advertisers that consumer trust translates to real results for their business when they perceive social media as more valuable? Arguably, trust in commercial radio offers a better chance than social media for messages to stand out and resonate with consumers, but when it comes to uncluttered, noncommercial public radio, the value to sponsors is unmatched. Our listeners overwhelmingly trust and value public radio more than other media outlets:

And these positive perceptions about NPR deliver tangible benefits to our sponsors that they’d be hard pressed to get on other media, let alone social media channels:

The value proposition is clear: when it comes to enhancing corporate image, building brand trust and credibility, and creating a purchase preference among a quality audience, there’s no better media environment for sponsorship than public radio. #takethatsocialmedia

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