NYC Radio: WNYC Reaches Younger Demos Via Podcasts

One of the lesser-known media moguls roaming the canyons of Manhattan is New York Public Radio boss Laura Walker. She’s spent the past two decades expanding public radio’s fiefdom by hustling rich folks, marketers and everyday listeners like you for cash.

In a chat with On the Money in the NY Post, she reveals that everyday donors shelled out the biggest percentage (34 percent) of her $71 million budget. Sponsors came in at 28 percent, with philanthropists — including one of Morgan Stanley’s divisional vice chairman, Brad Whitman — chipping in another 20 percent.

Walker’s empire includes WNYC 93.9 FM and WNYC 820 AM and classical station WQXR 105.9 FM, a performance space and podcast unit — all paid for with the help of 195,000 members.

Walker tells The NY Post she’s given lots of thought to the digital age and acknowledges that youngsters just don’t own radios these days, and so podcasting is one way to reach them.

One podcast, “Meet the Composer,” has been finding cash from an unlikely source — Kickstarter.

The campaigns have raised a total of $46,000, with more to come. But how to get people to give when they’re downloading apps and listening to podcasts is a challenge.