He argues that negative results, accurate or inaccurate, could put radio dramatists out of business by confirming program directors' belief that drama leads to tune-out. Radio drama is the surest, albeit the happiest, way to penury and obscurity. But Valerie Henderson, executive producer of the Public Media Foundation and one of the project participants, says she is sure the research results will be positive. Public radio listeners today don't have the chance to appreciate drama because stations air it at inconvenient times and inconsistently, she says. They also confuse and lose listeners by shifting its time slot too frequently in an attempt to find the optimum niche, she says.
Stations have to hang in there and build audience.
Other ways to get drama out of the doldrums, producers argue, include better promotion of programs and production of higher-profile projects. To demonstrate drama's potential, they point to the popularity of Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion , which includes comedy sketches, and to flourishing drama venues such as WNYC, New York and KCRW, Los Angeles. These and other venues, including CDs and books, which are growing in popularity, will keep radio dramatists active, says veteran producer Erik Bauersfeld. He links program directors' abandonment of drama with an insidious expansion of commercialism. There seems to be no way to stop that.