Bravo Saul Levine!

I'm cheered somewhat by the subject of this article (courtesy of ArtsJournal. I've never heard KMZT, which I suspect plays it a little safe for my taste as a radio consumer, but nevertheless I applaud the persistence with which Mr. Levine maintains his mission and refuses to cave to social and economic pressures. He keeps KMZRT going, despite the fact that he could make a pretty hefty profit in his 1950's investment. As NPR stations give in to market studies and move away from classical music to all news, which IMHO is exactly the opposite of what they should be doing, he soldiers bravely on. Unfortunately he is now 80 and one day in the not too distant future he may not be around to protect the station from market forces.

One comment in the article bothers me a bit though. The writer writes: "Other independent owners — particularly in classical music radio, which has a limited, aging audience — long ago accepted offers from industry giants that snapped up FM stations in lucrative markets."

It is perceived wisdom, but, and this is not just a rhetorical question, I'd like to see the data that supports the idea that classical audiences are "aging", or at least are aging any faster than the general population. I don't deny that classical music audiences are older, but my experience doesn't seem to indicate that the audience in general is getting older on average. I see a fair amount of young people in audiences, in NY and even here in Sarasota, a retirement community if ever there was one. There may not be as many as I'd like, but they are there and they are appreciative.