Mr. Rogers was a great mentor.
LeVar Burton was one of the great literary intellectuals.
One could always count on The Count for a rather cerebral discussion on mathematics.
Then, somewhere around the age of 9, Generation Y turned away from PBS.
Now, 20-somethings are back, tuning in to public television and radio en masse as part of a youthful shift toward entertainment with the added bonus of intellectual stimulation.
Yes, Charlie Rose is the new Big Bird.
“It sounds so corny to say, but you’ll watch PBS if you’re interested in knowledge,” says John Menzies, Creative Services Manager for KAET-8, a PBS affiliate that broadcasts from the campus of Arizona State University. “I love escapist fare as much as the next person, I love silly comedy. But sometimes you just want something with a little substance.”
Substance, Menzies says, that other television networks are lacking.
“I think what happened was, in the 24 hour cycle of these channels, they kind of watered it down,” Menzies says. “There are some great shows on some cable networks, I love them. But there’s nothing like ‘Frontline.’”
Shows like “Frontline,” “Charlie Rose” and “Masterpiece Theatre” are drawing new, more youthful members to their audiences; evidence of the demographics’ changing tastes.
But PBS has also made a conscious effort to capture the attention of Generation Y, providing programming to fit the efforts of a more youthful crowd.
Recent subjects of the American Masters biography series have included Peanuts creator Charles Schulz and pop artist Andy Warhol.
PBS even does reality TV: “America’s Ballroom Challenge” pits professional dancers against one another in the four major styles of ballroom dancing, and “Frontier House” follows the progress of three families living the lives of settlers in recreated 1883 Montana.
And then there’s perhaps PBS’ most successful venture into youth-targeted programming, “Austin City Limits,” a live musical performance show that debuted in the mid-’70s. For the show that made developed a following showcasing country and Bluegrass acts like Willie Nelson and Guy Clark to have recently featured indie rock favorites Modest Mouse, Franz Ferdinand and The Decemberists says a lot about he direction of PBS as a whole.
“I don’t know where you go to catch live performance anymore,” Menzies says. “Occasionally I catch something on one of the Viacom networks, but our Friday night with ‘Austin City Limits’ – it’s kind of pleasing to the older crowd like me, and then they’re introducing people to new artists.”
But Menzies is also quick to point out that PBS is not about to transform into the next MTV, and that the differences between programming for youth and an older audience only go so far.
“In one way there’s not a difference,” Menzies says. “People that just want to know what’s going on in the world, across all age groups. And if you really want to know what’s going on, you’ll tune in to it.”
The same can be said for public radio, which has long been a hub for intellectual discussion that’s often discovered by students once they head off to college, says Scott Williams, programming director for Phoenix’s KJZZ, the Valley’s National Public Radio affiliate.
“The truth is, for public radio, the biggest factor in whether someone is a listener or not really isn’t their age, it’s the amount of education they have,” Williams says. “The more college education they have, the more likely they are to listen to NPR. I think it’s kind of a natural thing for college students to pick up on it.”
According to the most recent Arbitron survey, about 5 percent of KJZZ’s weekly listeners are between 18 and 24, or around 12,700.
Williams says the relatively low numbers are due to the in-depth discussion and reporting NPR brings to the table, as opposed to the broad fact-reporting of other news outlets.
“[NPR listeners] are a little more curious, trying to figure out little more of why things happen instead of just, ‘this happened.’”
The most popular show for the 18-24 demographic is “Fresh Air,” which takes an in-depth look at aspects of popular culture.
“While it’s not specifically targeted for under 25, I think there’s more real content there,” Williams says. “They’ll do a whole week on hip-hop or whatever, that you just wouldn’t expect to find on public radio.”
“This American Life,” a long-running NPR program that highlights the lives of everyday Americans, is now also a television show on Showtime, and was recently renewed for a second season.
And NPR is now especially accessible to a younger, more technology-savvy crowd through its website, which features live streaming local broadcasts from more than 300 affiliates, print coverage on international events and archived recordings of shows popular with the younger demographic, including “All Things Considered,” “Car Talk” and “Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me.”
Technology has also given PBS a considerable boost, John Menzies says.
PBS has similarly-archived shows on its site, and the KAET site azpbs.org had 25,000 video views last month alone, Menzies says.
“We’re trying to do more of that on a local basis … With just trying to put more content that we have the rights to online.”
Thanks to technology, younger people are also helping with the ongoing struggle for funding, Menzies says, donating money through newly-implemented online pledge drives.
Menzies also says that, while digital recording services such as Tivo often concern advertisement-based networks because of the ability to skip over paid commercials, such technology will help public television in the long run.
“Whereas a lot of commercial stations will be concerned about a DVR, and putting the control in the consumer, I’ve got no fear about it because if you’ve got worthy content, people are going to come to it, it doesn’t matter what channel it’s on,” Menzies says. “Content transcends the channel of delivery. That’s where PBS wins. Good thoughtful content will always be in demand.”
For now, at least, the demand from Generation Y is a little less “Transformers,” a little more “Nova.” For the sake of public television and radio’s ongoing success – and the American IQ, for that matter – PBS and NPR hope their “cool-factor” doesn’t run out anytime soon.
“I hope there’s always a cache in intelligent television,” Menzies says.
MCT wire services contributed to this report.
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