I was reading an interview with a young Program Director of a large market CHR station. She was talking about relating to her target audience. Not 12-24, 18-34, 25-54, or even teens. She was talking about the 6-24 year old demographic.

What a crock of shit! This is NOT target audience! No one cares! I understand as a mass appeal radio station it's important to have everyone aboard and you want those precious 6 year olds listening, remember, they grow up and you want them then. But give me a break. On both ends of the spectrum there is one commonality, they might be related to each other. Oftentimes, the only thing a 6 year old has in common with a 24 year old is the fact that one is a parent, the other a child.
When I was 6, I remember hearing the radio station my mother kept on in the car. It was WLS in Chicago, and at that time, they were playin' Beatles songs to death. I loved the Beatles then(I still do), but it didn't seem there was anything else about the station that might have appealed to me. I don't remember the personalities at the time(bad radio person), the commercials, I do remember the jingles("Turn your radio on..."), and the music. I'm sure I wasn't someone they were targeting when programming that radio station. The thought may have occurred to them that as I grew up, I might become a listener(I did), but that's about it.
I guess my point is that 6 year olds generally don't control the radio. If they do, I'd doubt that is even one of their top five choices for entertainment. Hell, I'm 50 and radio is generally the last place I go for entertainment, not because I don't like radio in general, but because all of the stations suck. If I'm not entertained by it, imagine how someone growing up with so many more choices than I had feels.
I don't think getting 6 to 24 year olds listening is a bad thing. It just seems unrealistic to target your programming at such a broad spectrum. Let's talk about the 25-54 demographic. Wait, I already did. Check my blog archives for that piece of work.
HARLEY