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community, especially in contemporary times. McMillian and Chavis (1986)
noted that community in modem society stresses more the “relational” concepts
of community that focus on connections between the social relationships, rather
than strictly “geographical” community. Factors such as increased mobility and
access through new technologies have continued to underscore the validity of
this argument.
Given these definitions, the sports talk radio audience certainly has
elements that qualify it as a community, both in terms of a shared sense of
identity as well as the relational aspects of a community. Establishing a common
identity is perhaps the easier argument to make. The audience’s identity, while
forged primarily by a common interest in sports, is also fused by many similar
demographic characteristics. Listeners to the all-sports format are
overwhelmingly male (86.5 percent) and this genre has the highest male:female
ratio of any format (Arbitron, 2008). This highly masculine arena could serve as
an important communication tool in creating a distinct “masculine space and
style” at a time when many gender separations have become less distinct
(Reffiie, 2006, p. 13). This audience also shares a high degree of technological
interest and savvy, recording among the top ratings in online activities such as
listening to radio online, streaming radio, and watching and/or downloading
videos (Arbitron, 2008).
Arbitron data also indicate that these listeners have a fairly high level of
socioeconomic status: they are more college educated than almost any other
format, have a greater percentage of homeownership, and more are fullyemployed than those of any other radio format. However, it is interesting to note
that while more than half of their audience earned more than $75,000 in annual
income, this format also ranked first in the percentage of listeners in the
$25,000-350,000 income bracket. The accessibility of radio to listeners across a
broad range of economic backgrounds certainly argues that radio has continuing
relevance in the realm of public discourse, with a great potential to create bonds
across groups that often have little interaction. Indeed, it can be argued that
sports talk radio is “an important democratizing element in today’s detached
information age” (Owens, 2006, p. 125) because of its ability to emphasize the
similarities and social connections rather than privileging certain economic
communities (Haag, 1996; Reffue, 2006) as might other more costly media such
as cable television and internet sites. Sports also have the potential to develop
community in a unique format because of its power to create conversation
around political and social issues using a non-threate ning common theme, which
may help minimize the boundaries of social class, a particularly difficult and yet
oft ignored barrier in discussion (Reffue, 2006).
However, radio’s cultural relevance and its ability to create community
must be questioned in this era of constantly evolving media. Nylund’s work
(2001, 2004) cites considerable research on talk radio’s ability to coalesce
people into communities; however, these studies are somewhat dated given the
many recent developments in media. Is it possible for radio to compete with