As NFCB prepares to release findings from our new Rural Research Study this summer, we wanted to take a moment to explain why we undertook this work, why it matters now, and why we believe it is one of the most important investments NFCB has made in recent years.
For decades, community broadcasters have described themselves as hyper-local, community-centered, and deeply rooted in the lived realities of the places they serve. Many organizations across public media and journalism use similar language. Some serve a handful of rural communities, Tribal nations, multilingual populations, or BIPOC audiences.
But few organizations in the public media system represent these communities at the scale that NFCB does.
Nearly 63% of NFCB member stations are located in rural communities. More than half operate on annual budgets under $100,000, and many are run by only one to three paid staff members alongside large volunteer teams. Some stations are entirely volunteer powered. Our members include Tribal stations, multilingual stations, LPFMs, grassroots community broadcasters, and organizations serving communities that are too often overlooked by national research, philanthropy, and policy conversations.
This study begins from a simple but important premise: if we want community radio stations to survive and thrive in the years ahead, we need stronger evidence about the communities they serve, the information ecosystems they operate within, and the role local broadcasters play in civic life.
The Rural Research Study was commissioned by NFCB in partnership with City Square Associates and Brevity & Wit. The project is supported through general operating support from MacArthur Foundation, as well as a small supplemental grant from The Bridge Fund and Public Media Company to help expand how the findings can be shared and translated into practical tools for stations. Together, this support reflects NFCB’s larger commitment to helping stations build adaptive capacity during a period of profound change across public media.
We also want to acknowledge the immense work of our colleagues at Native Public Media in service to Tribal broadcasters and information sovereignty in Native communities. NFCB regularly turns to Native Public Media for insight, partnership, and guidance as we think about rural and Tribal information ecosystems. We are equally grateful to our colleagues at Radio Bilingüe for their partnership and leadership in helping ensure this research better reflects multilingual and Spanish-speaking communities that are too often underrepresented in national studies.
The study surveyed thousands of people across rural America — including English- and Spanish-speaking respondents — to better understand how communities access local information, what they trust, where gaps exist, and how local media organizations contribute to civic health and resilience.
Importantly, this work is not simply about audiences as consumers.
It is about understanding communities as ecosystems.
That framing matters.
For years, community broadcasters have intuitively understood their role as more than “media outlets.” Stations serve as emergency communication hubs, cultural archives, conveners, training grounds, local storytellers, and trusted civic institutions. They connect people to one another and to critical information during moments of crisis and everyday life alike.
But intuition alone is no longer enough.
In today’s funding and policy environment, stations increasingly need data that helps explain their value to funders, donors, policymakers, local governments, and community partners. They need ways to demonstrate not only who listens, but why their work matters.
This is especially urgent in the current moment as the public media system navigates enormous uncertainty around federal support, infrastructure transitions, emergency communications systems, music rights, and long-term sustainability.
NFCB’s recent community radio staffing and workforce survey reinforced this reality. The survey highlighted how stretched many community stations are operationally, with limited staff capacity, heavy volunteer reliance, and growing expectations around fundraising, digital engagement, emergency preparedness, and community service. Stations are being asked to do more with less while operating in increasingly complex civic and technological environments.
At the same time, another clear finding emerged from NFCB’s data usage survey: the form of data most commonly used — and most confidently understood — by member stations is fundraising data.
That makes sense. Fundraising data is immediate, practical, and tied directly to organizational survival.
But NFCB believes community stations deserve access to broader forms of research and analysis that can strengthen every aspect of their work.
When stations understand local information needs, audience behaviors, trust patterns, demographic shifts, and community perceptions, they are better positioned to:
- strengthen fundraising cases for support,
- build stronger donor narratives,
- communicate value to elected officials and foundations,
- develop more responsive programming and engagement strategies,
- deepen partnerships with local institutions,
- advocate for policy support,
- and position themselves as essential civic infrastructure.
That last phrase is increasingly important.
Community radio is not simply “content.”
It is infrastructure.
In many communities — particularly rural and Tribal regions — local broadcasters remain one of the few trusted, accessible, place-based institutions connecting people to information, culture, emergency alerts, and one another. That role has tangible civic value.
The ability to frame stations as essential civic infrastructure changes how others understand and invest in this work.
It helps foundations see stations as community resilience partners. It helps local officials recognize stations as public safety and civic engagement assets. It helps donors understand that they are supporting institutions that strengthen local democracy and belonging. And it helps stations themselves make more informed strategic decisions rooted in evidence rather than assumption.
NFCB’s goal is not to turn community broadcasters into research organizations.
Our goal is to help stations feel more confident using data as another tool in service of their mission and communities.
Because the best community broadcasters already know something important: data does not replace relationships.
It strengthens them.
Over the coming months, NFCB will begin sharing findings from the Rural Research Study through webinars, presentations, training opportunities, and the 2026 NFCB Community Radio Convening in Chicago. We are excited not only to share what we learned, but to learn together as a system about how this information can support stronger stations, healthier communities, and a more resilient future for community media.
