The advertising revenues generated come primarily from businesses within the local communities. The news and information, music and programming are developed with the makeup of the local community in mind. Radio stations attempt to stay close to their public through providing varying music designed to meet the musical needs and tastes of the various publics that comprise the community. In larger towns, cities, and metropolitan areas, newspapers still often enjoy a local monopoly and spend much of their editorial space on happenings of a local nature, but will also provide some information regarding state, national, and international news. Nevertheless, it is the local news which has traditionally been the dominant focus of even these larger media outlets.
Radio stations segment the market, aiming their programming at a specific constituent public.
News and public affairs focus on those topics that are important or of interest to the media outlet's constituent public, whether it is the death of a world leader, concern over a gasoline spill in a local creek that could make individuals living in a neighborhood of the community ill, or the local political elections. Talk programs on the radio discuss topics of local interest with local leaders or individual citizens. Call-in programs let the community speak to itself about issues of importance. Traditionally, it has been easy to define the community that the media outlets served. It was simply the town or city where the media outlet was located plus the surrounding area.