BLACK REACTION TO:
“BIRD OF THE IRON FEATHER"

Thesis for the Degree of M. A.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
THOMAS ANDREW HARDY
1972

 

 

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ABSTRACT

BLACK REACTIONS TO
"BIRD OF THE IRON FEATHER"

BY

Thomas A. Hardy

The general area of investigation is that of television
programming for specifically Black target audiences. More
specifically, what types of program formats are most effec-
tive in programming for Black viewers.

The format type under investigation was the soap Opera,
that is, "an on—going series of dramatic productions, usually
programmed daily, which consists of a core group of charac-
ters and a plot line which continues through succeeding pro-
ductions."

Chicago's educational television station produced a
Black soap Opera entitled "Bird of the Iron Feather" which
was produced almost entirely by a Black staff. Two examples
of this series, "Cry of the Silent" and "Rotten Apples",
were used as basic stimulus for this study.

Staff members representing the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting presented the series examples to middle class
and working class Black viewers representing five major
metropolitan areas (Cleveland, Miami, New Orleans, Phila-

delphia, and Los Angeles).

Thomas A. Hardy

Criticism of the series examples came in the form of
guided group discussions in which respondents were asked to
react to four basic questions.

1. What did you like about the series?

2. What did you dislike about the series?

3. Do you think (Black) people will watch this series?

4. Should this series be put on 180 stations nationally?

All of the discussions were audio—taped and a content
analysis was conducted on the tapes.

As additional points of reference, group critique ses—
sions were conducted by the author, using:

1. A group of four White graduate students of Television

and Radio.

2. Two Black graduate students in Communication who
criticized the realism of the productions, in terms
of Black life-styles.

The results of these critique sessions were both used as an
aid for the tape coders and compared with the results derived
from the Black viewer responses.

From the original tapes, 334 usable responses were ob-
tained. The responses were transcribed from the originals,
together with information regarding: l) the city, 2) the
class, 3) the question asked, and 4) the number of responses.
These were used to facilitate coding procedures. Coders
rated responses on a scale representing either intensity or
degree of acceptance. The coders used in the study had the
following qualifications: they were Black students above the

SOphomore level of college and majoring in television and

radio or a related subject (advertising, communications, etc.).

Thomas A. Hardy

The language laboratory facilities were used in conducting

the study.

Analysis of the data obtained was conducted using class

and city as independent variables and the following results

were obtained from ten hypotheses formulated:

Black viewers feel that the series, "Bird of the
Iron Feather", should be distributed nationally.
Confirmed.

"Cry of the Silent" will receive a more positive

response than "Rotten Apples". Confirmed.

..... Middle class Black viewers have a more positive

response to "Cry of the Silent"ithan to "Rotten
Apples". Confirmed.
Black viewers feel that Black peOple will watch

this series. Confirmed.

..... Middle class Black viewers have more negative

responses to "Rotten Apples" than to "Cry of the
Silent". Confirmed.

Student reactions will be generally more positive
than the adults'. Confirmed.

Black viewers have a greater positive response
than negative response for the soap Opera format.

Not confirmed.

..... Middle class Black viewers have a greater negative

response to the series than do working class Black

viewers. Not confirmed.

Thomas A. Hardy

..... Working class Black viewers have a greater negative
response to "Cry of the Silent" than to "Rotten
Apples". Not confirmed.

..... Working class Black viewers have more positive
response to "Rotten Apples" than to "Cry of the

Silent". Not confirmed.

BLACK REACTION TO:

"BIRD OF THE IRON FEATHER"

BY

Thomas Andrew Hardy

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Television and Radio

1972

Accepted by the faculty of the Department of
Television and Radio, College of Communication Arts,
Michigan State University, in partial fulfillment of

the requirements for the Master of Arts degree.

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Director of Thesis

ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Grateful acknowledgment is made to: Mr. Le Roy
Miller who provided the information necessary to
complete the study, and a positive direction to follow
in pursuing a career. To: Dr. Thomas Baldwin who
guided me through periods of academic uncertainty,

and lastly to my wife, Salem, for her patience and

help in completing this effort.

 

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER Page
I. INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
II. INVESTIGATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Methodology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
III. RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
IV. DISCUSSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4O
APPENDICES
I. TABLES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
II. CODE BOOK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
III. CRITIQUE OF “BIRD OF THE IRON FEATHER". . 57

iv

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE Page
1. General Like and General Dislike Values. . . . 43
2. Like Values by Production. . . . . . . . . . . 44
3. Dislike Values by Production . . . . . . . . . 45
4. Total Adult Values and Student Values. . . . . 46

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

Minority oriented public television programming must not,
because of the relative position both socially and economical-
ly of its target audience, simply address itself to the enter-
tainment and peripheral social issues which confront the
community. It must provide a medium of information for the
ghettos through which the daily problems and pressures of
minority existence in this country can be exposed and dis-
cussed. In addition, minority oriented public television pro—
gramming should also begin to provide a positive self—image
for the Black community by portraying Black peOple in natural
positive and negative positions.

In order to portray Blacks in natural situations, which
incidentally are those which few Whites could witness for
any extended period of time or adequately write about for
Black consumption, it is necessary to train and provide ex—
perience for Black writers, producers, directors and techni—
cians along with providing means through which these persons
can provide programming for consumption by the Black community.
This situation can only come about through the increase of

Black employment at the professional and managerial level.l

 

1National Association of Educational Broadcasters, Office
of Minority Affairs. "Minority Employment Practices of Public
Television Stations." October, 1971.

l

In order to reach Black target audiences with programming
that is acceptable, informative and entertaining, research
must be undertaken in order to ascertain Black viewing pref—
erences in terms of: (1) program format, (2) reactions to
present use of Black talent, (3) most advantageous viewing
periods, and (4) the present needs of the target audience that
relevant Black programming could supply. Black audiences
must be given an Opportunity to voice their Opinions regarding
programming that is aimed at them. In other words, researchers
should begin to communicate to Black producers how Blacks from
varied socio-economic backgrounds evaluate and perceive tele—
vision in general and specifically television programming
about themselves. In this way television can be used as a
tool in treating the myriad of problems which are a part of
life in the Black community.

.Black television viewers' reaction to television and
their roles in it have been areas that have been traditionally
barren in terms of published research. Some general informa-
tion regarding Black viewing habits has been obtained, notably
from Greenberg,2 who studied the impact of Blacks on Tele-
,vision and the use of media by the Urban poor, and Clark, who
studied racial and psychological identification generated by

television.3

 

2Bradley Greenberg and Brenda Dervin. "Use of the.Mass
.Media by the Urban Poor" (New York: Praeger Publishing
Company, 1970).

3Cedric Clark, Race, Identification and Television
Violence: Part I Theory (Abstract).

Two studies conducted by Greenberg,4 yielded some sur-
prising information regarding both black reactions to
television and the portrayal of Blacks by white writers.
Below are two quotes which tend to capsulize white media use
of Blacks in television:

The typical black in a commercial is a male in his 20's

or 30's usually in a minor role. .He seldom speaks,

usually doesn't touch the product, dresses according to
white standards and is shown with a lot of other pe0ple.

The typical black in a dramatic show is a male, works

for a law enforcement agency, plays a minor role, is in

his 20's or 30's, seldom plays a villain and again
dresses and talks according to white standards.5
In spite of the white orientation of Black actors seen on the
screen, Greenberg's study of Cleveland Black adults6 showed
that 89.7 percent of the Blacks there viewed at least one
television news program per day, but that the programs most
talked about (34 percent) were soap Operas as compared to

7 In addition, 72 percent of the

9 percent for the news.
Cleveland respondents voted in the last presidential election

and 86 percent viewed the election returns on television.8

 

4Joseph R. Dominick and Bradley S. Greenberg, "Blacks
on TV: Their Presence and Roles." Michigan State University,
Department of Communications (CUP Project No. 8). Also,
Joseph R. Dominick and Bradley S. Greenberg, "Television Be-
havior Among Disadvantaged Children." Michigan State Univer—
sity, Department of Communications (CUP Project No. 9).

51bid., No. 8, p. 17.

6Bradley S. Greenberg, "Communication and Related Be-
haviors of a Sample of Cleveland Black Adults." Michigan
State University, Department of Communications (CUP Project
NO. 13).

7Ibid., p. 2.

8Ibid., p. 32.

In spite of the overwhelmingly White orientation of even
Black actors in television, Blacks tend to consume as much
or more of the media out-put.9 The questions which would
Obviously follow would be: What are the effects Of the
dichotomy between the Black viewers' life style and what he
views on the screen? and, what type of self-image does a
Black viewer internalize as a result of this dichotomy?
Clark conducted a study inquiring into the Black con-
sciousness and identification and present television pro-

0 In it he put forth three major postulates

gramming.1
regarding Black psychological views of television:

(1) All human systems require maintenance inputs

(2) Legitimation is an important type of maintenance

(3) BIEEES have been denied legitimacy, both from

Whites and other Blacks.

Postulate three, Clark feels, becomes part of a belief
sub-system which included "(1) feelings of competency and
personal adequacy, (2) feelings of legitimacy and social
worth."11 All of these factors tend to act negatively on
the Black viewer, when, as Clark says, “The competent identi—

fication moded most often presented in the mass media is the

 

9Bradley S. Greenberg and Brenda Dervin, "Mass Com—
munication Among the Urban Poor." Michigan State University,
Department of Communications (CUP Project No. 5).

10Cedric Clark, Race, Identification and Television
Violence: Part II Empirical Research (Abstract).

111bid., p. 5.

White male."12 A major reaction from this situation would be,
as the Greenberg study pointed out, that 100 percent of the
White fourth and fifth graders responding identified with
White characters, and 32 percent of the Blacks also chose

White characters for identification.13

One major objective of
Black—oriented programming would be to create positive Black
characters to generate a higher degree of identification in
Black viewers and therefore a larger amount of information
that could be derived from the programming offered.

There are many studies which show a high percentage of
television households in non-White communities. A Rand
Corporation study published in 1969 states that "As of June
of 1967, eighty-seven point seven percent of the non—white

n14

homes had television. The Cleveland study by Greenberg

states that, "As of 1970, ninety—five point five percent of
Cleveland black adults reported one or more television sets."15
The Greenberg study even suggests greater media consumption
by Blacks. Few present programs attempt to educate and
entertain a specifically Black target audience with any infor-

mation that would help to eliminate the problems of the Black

community.

 

lzIbid., p. 5.

13Greenberg, QB. cit. (CUP Project No. 9).

14R. Bretz, Dordick, Chester, and Firstman, Telecommuni-
cation in Urban Development. Rand Corporation, July, 1969,
p. 16.

15Greenberg, 9p, cit. (CUP Project No. 13), p. 30.

The Rand study also gives information and direction

regarding potential areas of research and problems within

the Black community that local television programming could

aid in alleviating. The report named nine potential areas

for testing and evaluation of media usage for Urban Develop—

ment.
1.
2.
3.

4.
5.

6.
7.

8.
9.

The studies would be used to:

Increase communication in the ghetto

Test study hypotheses

Find preferred viewing and listening times for target
viewers

Find appropriate content and style

Find the time necessary to alter present target
audience viewing habits

Find the time necessary to<reate credibility in the
media

Find the time needed to make media function in an
urban area

Find the cost of program operation

Find the types and means of non-broadcast organiza-
tions required to make the system work.16

A concurrent step would be to formulate areas of concern

to the Black community, which would in turn create a founda-

tion of program subject matter. The Rand report gives some

potential program subject areas:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

employment
education

city government
business

Black culture

community interaction.17

 

16Bretz pp gl,, Telecommunication in Urban Development,
Op. cit., p. 43.

17Ibid., p. 45.

These types of programs could be produced on both the national
and local level to begin a concerted media effort to alleviate
problems in the Black community. "Bird of the Iron Feather"
was a series which purported to do just that.

Two examples of "Bird of the Iron Feather" were used as
a foundation for this study. The films were used'tohgenerate
discussion by Black viewers in order to determine their re-
actions to this program format type. From this and other
related studies a greater knowledge of the most effective
program formats togbe aimed at the Black community may be ob-
tained.

"Bird of the Iron Feather" was something new for the
Chicago area, in that not only was the target audience for
the soap opera series Black, but also nearly all of the entire
one hundred sixty-man crew and staff were Black as well.18

The foundation for the series was a pattern set by a
similar projectsinitiated in the Denver area entitled
“Operation StOp-Gap".19 This series also employed minority
actors and writers to produce a soap Opera format. "Operation
StOp-Gap" was also unique in that the series itself was step
two of a three phase program which included: (1) a series of

pre—program interviews, (2) airing of eight television soap

 

18"Soul Opera: Soap Opera," Newsweek, February 27: 1970:
p. 68.

19Richard J. Meyer, "ETV and the Ghetto," The Educational
Broadcasting Review, August, 1968, p. 22.

Operas with commercials, and (3) post series evaluation of

the proqrams. On the basis of this program information, a
$600,000 grant from the Ford Foundation was obtained by Edu-
cational station WTTW—TV to produce thirty shows.20 The final

product of the grant was twenty-one half-hour shows which

1 The series ended after com-

were aired three times weekly.2
pleting twenty—one shows for two reasons: (1) the cost per
production was more than had been originally anticipated,:and
(2) the Ford Foundation did not continue its financial sup-
port.

"Bird" received a variety of both positive and negative
responses from the Chicago area. A favorable response came
from the Coalition for United Community Action, a group of
sixty-one community agencies which labeled the series "The

"22 Unfavorable responses regarding the

series of the decade.
profanity used in the series prompted a programming change
from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Predictably, the White response
to the series was generally negative, but despite this problem,
the series received very good ratings.

"Bird" also received reviews in national publications as

well. Most of them considered the series to be rough tech-

nically, but encouraging. A prime example was Richard

 

20"Soul Drama, Chicago's New Series Entitled: 'Bird of
the Iron Feather'", Time, February 23, 1970, pp. 59-60.

211bid., p. 60.

22Newsweek, pp, cit., p. 68.

Christiansen, writing in the April issue of Educational Tele-

3 saw the series as being "erratic, at best and em-

vision,?
barrassingly amateurish at worst." His major complaints
seemed to rest with the formation and administration of the
series itself. Christiansen believes that his test of pro-
fessionalism which he places on a largely inexperienced,
amateur production team seems to be over-shadowed by the
ratings and high degree of community involvement with the
series.

"Bird of the Iron Feather“ differed from many other pub-
»lic television attempts at minority programming in that it
represented not only an on-going Black dramatic series as
examplified in WGBH's "On Being Black" series. It also pre-
sented a higher degree of series continuity through the use
of a core group of actors and plot lines which continued
through succeeding segments.

Other attempts by public television stations around the
nation at minority programming differed drastically from
“Bird's" soap Opera format. The "Fiesta" series initiated
by KUAT-TV in Southern Arizona employed a variety show format
which relied heavily on entertainment (sixty percent of pro—

grams) to maintain a basically Chicano viewing audience.24

 

23Richard Christiansen, "Review-—'Bird of the Iron
Feather'", Educational Television, April, 1970, p. 27.

2“Dr. E. B. Eiselein and Wes Marshall, "Fiesta--Experi-
ment in Minority Audience Research and Programming."
Educational Television, February, 1971, p. 22.

10

Like "Operation StOp-Gap", KUAT—TV carried on extensive pre-
program research in order to ascertain the needs and prefer-
ences of the target audience.

Helen Y. Sloan, working for the South Carolina State
Educational Television SyStem, began a series entitled "The
Job Man Caravan,"25 which, as the title implies, was a tele-
vised employment service for Blacks around the state. This
series applied both entertainment and remote productions to
draw Black viewers. This series differed from most locally
produced public television programming in that the series
enjoyed state-wide distribution and developed a working
relationship with state employment agencies. Though differ—
ing in format from "Bird of the Iron Feather" the concept of
television programming serving the direct needs of a minority
community is maintained throughout. A staff member of the
"Fiesta" series, writing in the February, 1971 issue of
Educational Television said:

Public television can effectively compete with both

locally produced and nationally produced commercial

material. It also seems evident that viable minority
programming can be undertaken. rBut to do this success-
fully demands a very thorough understanding of and
interrelationship with the target audience.26

This relationship can be formed through both direct

research into the area of Black or minority programming

 

25Helen Y. Sooan, "The Job Man Caravan," Educational
Television, May, 1971, p. 8.

26Eiselien, "Fiesta," pp. cit., p. 23.

ll

preferences and the development of some level Of credibility
within the minority community. Before relevant, entertaining,
and informative programming can be initiated, the producers
must have some idea of how Black people respond to television
about themselves. This study is an attempt to provide at

least a part of that information.

CHAPTER II
INVESTIGATION

Content analysis, the method of investigation for this
study may be generally defined as, "The process of reducing
lengthy verbal responses to essentials and then grouping
similar responses into categories which are represented
numerically."l At this point the numerical values may be
subjected to statistical analysis. In this study we will be
analyzing Black public television viewers' cognitive evalua—
tions of the two filmed examples from the Black soap Opera
series entitled, "Bird of the Iron Feather".

In attempting to verbalize their evaluations, each
individual respondent, in receiving the stimuli (series example
films), had to ascribe values to the two productions in rela-
tion to former productions to which they had previously been
exposed. In other words, the productions were evaluated in
terms of the pre-set production and content standards of each
respondent. In addition, the productions were evaluated in
terms of what the respondents felt Black dramatic produc-

tions should be.

 

1Doris Muehl, Editor, "A.Manual for Coders." University
Of.Michigan Research Center. Ann Arbor, 1961, p. 9.

12

13

A previous study conducted by Carl 1. Hovland and
others2 for the United States Army applied a similar tech-
nique of production evaluation through the use of the group
interviews. The studies analyzed soldiers' verbal evalua-
tions of the production technique of United States Army
orientation and training films. Hovland also indicated
three major variable areas which he viewed as those which
related to the evaluation of the films viewed:

1. POpulation variables-—the demographic nature of the
audience which must affect the presentation (reac-
tion of respondents)

2. Film variables-—film content variables which effect
audience reactions

3. External variables-—those variables which may affect
viewer reaction to the film but have no direct rela—
tionship to it.3

In the present study, the film~variable became the major
consideration. How the two series examples effect Black
viewer reactions to the four major dependent variables is of
major importance.

The area of investigation to which this study will ad-
dress itself is that of the effectiveness of Black-oriented
television programming. Many programs have been supposedly
aimed at the Black community, but the relative effects and

community viewer support for these programs have not been

adequately investigated. This study will attempt to evaluate

 

2

Carl I.-Hovland, A. Lumsdaine, and F. Sheffield.
Experiments in Mass Communication. Princeton University
Press, 1949.

3Ibid.. pp. 9-10.

14

one dramatic format type in terms of positive and negative
reactions from Black viewers.

The format used as the basis for evaluation was that
of the 'soap Opera'. .Generally it is defined as an on-going
series of dramatic programs, usually aired on a daily basis,
which makes use of a core group of characters around which
the story revolves. There is more likely, than not, a
dilemma or question left in the mind of the viewer which
will not theoretically be resolved until the following epi—
sode. Supposedly an audience is generated and maintained

through time by this means.

Methodology

 

A content analysis was conducted from audio tapes of
group interview evaluations of two film examples from the
series, "Bird of the Iron Feather". The first production
entitled "Rotten Apples“, dealt mainly with the problem of
young drug addicts in the Black community and the system
which supports them (see appendix-code book outline). The
second dealt with the problems of Blacks buying a new home
and the welfare system (see appendix-code book outline),
entitled "Cry of the Silent". It was agreed upon by two
groups of graduate students in television and radio, who
criticized the filmed examples and the respondents involved
in the study that the second production, "Cry of the Silent"

was closer to the soap Opera tradition.

15

In order to facilitate the analysis and coding, two
informal viewing sessions of the series examples were con—
ducted. The first involved a group of four White.Master's
candidates in television and radio. The group was asked by
means of an Open-ended questionnaire and informal discussion
(see appendix) to evaluate the production aspects of the
series examples. The questionnaires were divided into four
major subject areas where the following results were ob-
tained:

1. Camera positioning and movement—-there seemed to be
complete consensus of opinion regarding camera posi-
tions in each of the set plots given for each pro-
duction.

2. Staging and character movement--the entire group
felt that the staging did not detract from the
effectiveness of the story. On the other hand, two
persons reacted with questions regarding furniture
positioning in relation to camera positioning in
Bobby's (the addict in "Rotten Apples") apartment.

3. Direction and show continuity-—reactions to "Cry of
the Silent" tended to be much more positive than for
"Rotten Apples". Three persons reacted to what they
termed "unnatural cuts" in "Rotten Apples". All
persons said that there was a diétinct improvement
technically between the first production, "Rotten
Apples", and the second, "Cry of the Silent".

4. Over-all evaluation-—three of the four critics felt
that the medium of television was used to its best
advantage in the productions. The fourth person's
criticism came mainly in the areas of set decora-
tion, lighting and lack of visual references to the
world outside.

In terms of the level of production expertise shown in
the production, there was a clear concensus on the superiority
of "Cry of the Silent’ voiced by all of the White critics.
This group felt that both productions would be rated favorably

when compared to present network soap Operas.

16

The second critique session involved two Black Master's
candidates who evaluated the writing style, characrer inter-
action, and realism of the plot line. The first was complet—
ing thesis requirements in Radio and Television while
producing a "Soul" radio show for a local radio station.

The second was completing requirements in communications
research. Their reactions to the series examples were placed
in another Open-ended type questionnaire (see appendix II)
which cover four major subject areas relating to the realism
associated with the productions:

1. Sets, living situations:

"Rotten Apples"——both critics recognized the appro-
priate setting in this production, especially that
of the addicts's room° One person also brought to
light, the contradiction (possibly unintended) in-
volved with the very large clenched fist, indicating
some political awareness and the use of narcotics.
This point was also raised by some of respondents in
the group interviews.

"Cry of the Silent"-—The critics agreed that both
very drab living situations typified life as it
exists in a black ghetto. The sets were according to
them, quite realistic.

2. Acting and character interaction:

"Rotten Apples"--there seemed to be unanimity in a
positive reaction to the acting and language of the
addict, and a negative reaction to both policemen
(Jonah, main character, and Summerville, the White
lieutenant). The relationship between the addict,
Bobby, and the policeman, Jonah, seemed to one person
to be highly unnatural. In addition, both critics
viewed the subject of pay—offs (Bobby by Summerville),
as the real, but not in the manner portrayed in the
film.

“Cry of the Silent"--both critics tended to be much
less critical of this production, even to the point
of complementing the actors on their realism. The

17

single negative comment came in regard to the love
scene between Jonah and his wife. This point was
also brought up by many respondents in the group
interviews.

3. Subject and theme:

“Rotten Apples"—-The reactions of both individuals
seemed to coincide in their positive responses to
drugs as a subject area. Although both critics
detected problems regarding the time factor (half-
hour time limit) and developmental writing for minor
characters, specifically the lieutenant and the dope
pusher.

"Cry of the Silent"—-The theme as perceived by the
two critics was housing with an underlying theme in-
volving the Black family structure. For some reason,
the subject of welfare, which was regarded by every
other person who viewed the film as being the major
theme, was never mentioned.

4. Learning experience:

"Rotten Apples"~-The problem of police aid in per-
petuating the drug problem was agreed upon as the
major point put across by this production.

"Cry of the Silent"—-A1though the two critics' re—
actions were favorable, neither critic mentioned
either welfare structure or the problem of Blacks
buying homes.

The main areas of criticism for this group, came in
response to the writing for some minor character. The sets
or the realism of the situations created were never ques-
tioned, although, there were some questions regarding indi—
vidual reactions within these situations. The majority of
the points of criticism came as a result of acting, not
writing discrepancies.

Both groups' reactions to a question regarding the re-

lationship of each production to the soap Opera format was,

the "Cry of the Silent", while being technically well done,

18

was also closer to the image of the soap Opera. The major
reason being the lack of concrete conclusion and an obvious
preview of future occurrences.

In terms of adding additional perspectives to this
author's understanding of the two productions, these critics
were quite helpful. Both groups' reactions were capsulized,
placed in outline form, and placed in Section II of the code
book to further aid the coders in their sessions.

Respondents questioned for the study were groups of
Black viewers representing five metrOpolitan areas (Philadelphia,
Los Angeles, Cleveland, Miami, New Orleans). Each group viewed
two black and white (the originals are color) film examples of
the series, after which questionnaires were filled out and
the groups divided into working and middle class respondents,
by staff members from the Corporation for PUblic Broadcasting.
At this point, guided group interviews Were conducted by the
staff members.

The interview procedure consisted of the interview leader
questioning each of the respondents in turn, so that each
respondent gave at least one response to each of the four
questions asked.

Edited from the audio tape recordings of each session,
three hundred and thirty-four useable responses were Obtained
which represented the four major questions put to the re—
spondents. All useable responses were subsequently trans-
scribed from the original tapes together with verbal

introductions to each question, giving:

19

. The question asked of the respondents
. City of the respondents

. Class of the respondent

. Number of responses.

IPUNH

Test tones were also placed on the tapes, by the author, di-
viding individual responses. All of the above procedures
were conducted in order to facilitate coding.

In each group interview, the Black respondents were
asked four basic questions from which the four major dependent
variables were derived. Data was Obtained from Black viewers'
reaction to four basic questions. They were:

1. What did you like about the productions? (Likes)

2. What did you dislike about the productions? (Dislikes)

3. Do you think (Black) peOple will watch it? (local
viewing)

4. DO you think that this series should be put on one
hundred eighty stations nationally? (National
distribution)

Eight dependent variables were extracted from the re-
sponses to the four basic questions by the coders. These
variables were divided in terms of the independent variable.
The variables tested are as follows:

Independent—-

Five cities--Philadelphia, Cleveland, Miami,
New Orleans, Los Angeles

Classes--Working class, middle class, students
(used as a test group for the coders, not
statistically significant)

Dependent--

Likes-—Production I, Production II, general*

20

Dislikes-—Production I, Production II, general*
Local viewing-—general*
National distribution--general*

Eleven hypotheses were formulated through use of the
following assumptions and an application of independent and
dependent variables. After listening to a similar interview
conducted with the same film stimuli, but with White respond-
ents who gave overwhelmingly negative responses to the
series, it was assumed that the middle class Black group
whose attitudes, we assume more closely coincide with those
of Whites, would have an equally negative response in rela-
tion to the working class Black group. Also, the relatively
simple production of "Rotten Apples" would have a greater
appeal for the working class groups. Conversely it was
assumed that the middle class respondents would gravitate
to the more involved plot of "Cry Of the Silent". A positive
response was also predicted for the viewing and distribution
questions, because of the author's feeling that the general
Black pOpulation is keenly aware of the need for programming
aimed at them. From these assumptions and the variables,
the following hypotheses were formulated:

1. Black viewers have a greater positive response than
negative response for the soap opera format type.

2. The series "Bird of the Iron Feather" should be
distributed nationally.

 

*Specific references to: Production I—-"Rotten Apples",
or Production II--"Cry of the Silent": General--numerical
value given to the entire response.

21

3. Black viewers feel that other Black peOple will
watch this series.

4. "Cry of the Silent" has less negative response from
Black viewers than "Rotten Apples".

5. Middle class Black viewers have a greater negative
response to the series than working class Black
viewers.

6. Working class Black viewers have a greater positive
response to the series than middle class Black
viewers.

7. Middle class Black viewers have a greater positive
response to "Cry of the Silent” than to "Rotten
Apples".

8. Working class Black viewers have a greater positive
response to "Rotten Apples" than to "Cry of the
Silent".

9. Middle class Black viewers have a greater negative
response to "Rotten Apples" than "Cry of the Silent".

10. Working class Black viewers have a greater negative
response to "Cry of the Silent" than to "Rotten
Apples".

As previously stated, it was necessary to convert the
verbal responses given to numerical values for analysis. In
order to eliminate as much error as possible, three coders
were chosen to listen to the taped sessions. They were re-
quired to have the following qualifications:

1. They must be black

2. They must be upper classmen, above junior level in

college

3. They must major in Radio and Television or a related

field (communications, advertising, etc.).
Coders with the above qualifications will have already de-
velOped the skills and knowledge of broadcasting while also

retaining a working knowledge of Black speech and inflection

patterns. This knowledge would aid in eliminating the level

of inferences that would have to be drawn by non-Blacks during
coding sessions and also afid in reliability between coders.

The coders were asked to view the series examples after
first reading the code book critiques (see Appendix). This
was done in order to prepare the coders for references to
specific productions that respondents might make during the
course of an interview.

A five point psychological scale was applied by the
coders to each individual response. The scale ranged from
+2 to -2 with allowances made for "specific references" to
individual productions in the likes and dislikes question
areas. For the questions requiring positive responses (likes),
only values of zero or above were used for the analysis. For
questions requiring negative responses (dislikes), only values
of zero or below were used. (In the case of the negative
questions, the useable values were later converted to positive
numbers for ease of analysis.) In the case Of questions re-
quiring no sign exclusion the simple arithmetic means were
used.

All coding sessions were conducted in language laboratory
facilities in order to eliminate or minimize any outside
distractions. To eliminate error the coders were also allowed

to confer regarding numerical values given to the response.

CHAPTER I I I
RESULTS

The following hypotheses were confirmed:

.....Black viewers feel that the series, "Bird‘of the Iron
Feather", should be distributed nationally.

....."Cry of the Silent" will receive a more positive
response than "Rotten Apples".

.....Middle class Black viewers have a more positive response
to "Cry of the Silent" than to "Rotten Apples".

.....Black viewers feel that Black people will watch this
series.

.....Midd1e class Black viewers have more negative responses
to "Rotten Apples" than to "Cry of the Silent“.

.....Student reactions will be generally more positive than

the adults'.

The following hypotheses were not confirmed:
.....Black viewers have a greater positive response than

negative response for the soap Opera format.
.....Middle class Black viewers have a greater negative

response to the series than do working class Black

viewers.

23

24

..... Working class Black viewers have a greater negative
response to "Cry of the Silent" than to "Rotten Apples".
..... Working class Black viewers have more positive response
to "Rotten Apples" than to "Cry of the Silent".
The results of this study will be discussed in terms of the
original eleven hypotheses. In Chapter Four I will attempt
to discuss trends and specific production criticisms put
forth by the individual respondents. ApprOpriate tables with
complete statistical information are cited and appear in the
Appendix.

1. Black viewers have a greater positive response than
negative response for the soap Opera format.

 

A comparison of mean values Of the general like response
and general dislike response showed a significantly greater
negative response level. This trend also held true in the
case of the responses referring to specific productions; the
single exception being a higher mean value for positive
responses to "Cry of the Silent". This hypothesis was not
confirmed.

2. Black viewers feel that "Bird of the Iron Feather"
should be distributed nationally.

Regarding the question of national distribution for the
series, the responses tended to be overwhelmingly positive.
The mean values showed a surprizingly positive response from
the middle class group. This over—all positive response

substantiated the hypothesis.

25

3. Black viewers feel that other Black peOple will
watch the series.

Two of the cities responding to this question gave nega-
tive mean values. Cleveland in particular yielded negative
mean values for both classes interviewed. The two most
negative mean values were received from the Cleveland working
class group and the middle class group from Miami. However,
the over-all mean value was overwhelmingly positive and
despite the negative reaction from two relatively small
respondent groups, this hypothesis was confirmed.

4. "Cry of the Silent" will receive a less negative
response than "Rotten Apples".

 

"Cry of the Silent" received a favorable response from
both middle and working class groups. This production re—
ceived not only a less negative response value over-all, but
it also received a higher level of positive response than
did "Rotten Apples". There are some significant differences
between classes which will be discussed in later hypotheses.
This hypothesis was confirmed.

5. Middle class Black viewers have a greater negative
response to the series than do working claspgglack
Viewers.

In all three dislike cases (Production I, Production II,
and General) the middle class mean values were significantly
lower than those of the working class groups. Although the
working class groups tended to be more vehement in their nega-

tive criticism, it will be shown in the following chapter

26

that the middle class reactions were more pointed and aimed
at specific aspects of the productions. This hypothesis was
not confirmed.

6. Middle class Black viewers have a more positive
response to "Cry of the Silent" than to "Rotten

Apples".

Comparing middle class like responses to the two produc-
tions we find that the mean values for the "Cry of the Silent"
are significantly higher. Therefore this hypothesis is con-
firmed.

7. Working class Black viewers have a more positive
response to "Rotten Apples" than to "Cry of the
Silent".

Working class like responses to the individual produc—
tions showed little difference in mean values between
"Rotten Apples" and "Cry of the Silent". The mean value for
"Cry of the Silent" was slightly higher. Since the mean
value for "Rotten Apples" was not significantly higher than
that for "Cry of the Silent", the hypothesis was not con-
firmed.

8. Middle class Black viewers dislike "Rotten Apples"

more than "Cry of the Silent".

A comparison of middle class dislike values yielded
greater negative responses in the case of "Rotten Apples".
The mean value for dislikes of "Rotten Apples" was signifi-
cantly higher than that for "Cry of the Silent". The trend
of a greater negative response to "Rotten Apples" holds true

in this case also, confirming the hypothesis.

27

9. Working class Black viewers dislike ”Cry of the
Silent" more than "Rotten Apples".

 

The hypothesis in this case was not confirmed. A higher
dislike mean level by the working class group was recorded
for "Rotten Apples" than for “Cry of the Silent".

10. Student responses will be generally higher (more

positive or less negative) than those of the
adults'.

 

In every case, with the exception of dislike mean for
"Cry of the Silent" and the viewing mean, the student group
was both more positive (in the case of positive and variable
response question, a higher mean value) and less negative
(in the case of negative response questions, a lower mean
value) than the adult groups tested. This hypothesis was

confirmed.

CHAPTER IV

DISCUSSION

The Objectives of this study are similar to the majority
of studies of audience response to media production with the
exception being the nature of the target audience. Hovland
has best stated the two major Objectives of audience evalua-
tion based research:

... To find out what kinds of comments by the audience

are related to effects of the films and an attempt to

arrive at generalizations about what kinds of film
contents elicit desirable and undesirable comments by
the audience.1

In this chapter we will attempt to discuss the produc-
tions themselves together with the positive and negative
points of the study itself. The productions will be dis-
cussed in terms of the aspects which elicited positive or
negative criticism from the respondents and in terms of the
previously formulated hypotheses. In addition specific
quotes will be drawn from the response tapes to further illus-
trate major points. This information will hopefully become

both an aid for future producers of Black oriented programming

and a guide for future study.

 

1Carl I.-Hovland, Experiments in Mass Communications.
Princeton University Press (1949), p. 81.

28

29

Two major factors which may have effected, to some extent,
the reactions of the respondents were the quality of the
picture and sound presented. The original productions were
produced on color video tape while those presented to the
respondents were black and white transfers to film in which
the contrast range of the pictures was sorely limited. This
gave the impression of a drab picture. In addition, the qual-
ity of the sound track accompanying the film was at some
points distorted. Although these factors were at some points
explained to the respondents, they may have had some uncon-
scious effect on their responses.

Also interviewer bias may have had indirect influence
on the responses given. In this study three different inter-
viewers were used. Although the question put to the respond-
ents were basically the same, the differences in sex
inflection and manner of presentation may have affected the
responses.

The evaluation of trend or attitudes prevalent in the
responses will be discussed in tenms of the four major ques-
tions put to the groups, together with the hypotheses associ-
ated with that question.

1. What did you like about the productions? The themes
or subjects portrayed were of major importance to most of
the people questioned, as predicted by the Black master's
candidates. Another factor which was an obvious positive

point for the productions was the use of White actors as

3O

villains. Many persons voiced positive responses to this
point:

"The White public assistance aid ("Cry of the Silent"),

he was fabulous; he played his butt off. He was really

good; that is a typical honky; he came in there and you
just felt it."

"I liked it bringing out for the first time that the

White man (lieutenant-—"Rotten Apples") is guilty of

something."

"... to snatch the White boy, that lieutenant, the top

dog, and point out that he was the ace number one

villain, that was worthwhile."
It seems that there is a place for competent White actors in
Black dramatic productions.

In general, the respondents reacted much more favourably
to "Cry of the Silent" than to "Rotten Apples". The respond-
ents also stated that "Cry of the Silent" followed more
closely the soap opera tradition, which concurs with the
responses given by both student critique groups.

A comparison by class revealed a surprisingly higher
positive response level of the middle class group. Their
responses, it was assumed, were to be closer to those of the
negative White group tested.

a. "Rotten Apples". All of the groups interviewed
formed a consensus regarding the importance of the drug theme
of this production. While many persons voiced negative com-
ments regarding the acting of the main character, there were
few negative comments about the acting of the d0pe addict

(see Appendix). The theme of this production seemed to be

its main redeeming factor.

31

b. "Cry of the Silent" received by far the more positive
response. Not only was it considered to be of better quality,
but also closer to the soap Opera tradition:

"When I saw it [the production] the first thing I thought
of was soap Opera."

"It's no worse than the soap box Operas you see every
day."

"It was true to the form of the soap box Opera, and it

was a different soap box Opera from what I had ever seen

before.... I enjoyed it ... and I would like to see

more of that on soap box Operas."

"It would be fine as a soap Opera."

The respondents perceived the use of stereotyped roles
in this production which they believed did not detract from

the effectiveness of the programs.

"'Cry of the Silent‘, while it did deal with some
stereotypes, I think they're true."

"Cry of the Silent" received, not only a more positive
response than "Rotten Apples", but also a high degree of
identification from each class, both middle and working.

In terms of the hypotheses based on positive responses,
we find the working class responses were not correctly pre-
dicted. They did not react as positively to the less in-
volved production of "Rotten Apples" as was predicted in
hypothesis eight and they did not react more positively than
their middle class counterparts as had been predicted in
hypothesis six.

The middle class group followed a predicted path in
which they gave considerably higher positive responses to

"Cry of the Silent", because of the improved production

32

techniques and a level of empathy developed for the deaf mute
couple in this production. In terms of the positive responses
it was by far the most forceful of the two productions.

2. What did you dislike about the productions? The
majority of the negative comments came in reference to the
acting in general and the acting of the main character specif-
ically. There were also some comments regarding the pacing
Of the productions, specifically a scene which introduced the
deaf mute couple. (These comments were similar to those
expressed by both groups of Master's candidates.) It was
approximately five minutes long and was completely devoid of
sound. Few of the comments questioned either themes portrayed
or the writing as the Black graduate students did. One of
the general negative comments is found below:

"Black peOple will sit in front of their screens and

cry to see themselves depicted like this, especially

that dumb cop (the main character). Taking the same

content and putting capable actors in it you would

have mass appeal."

Regarding the pacing of the programs seen, some indi;
viduals believed that the shows were ”draggy" while others
attempted to justify these reactions by referring to the
commercial television viewing background of the respondents.
These comments are typical of those discussions.

"I got the feeling that this thing was going to drag on
forever. I was sitting there saying, 'When is the

end going to come?'"

"One of the reasons that they seemed to go so slow, both
of them, was that we have become so used to commercials.

There was no commercial break to give you a breather,

you just had to sit there and wonder when was it going
to be over."

33

Another point which generated some heated discussion
among the.Miami and New Orleans groups, most Obviously, and
throughout all of the other cities tested generally, was the
varied reactions to the speech patterns used by the actors.
This point corresponds favorably with similar responses given
by the Black.Master's candidates. The unnatural situations
created, not by the roles or actions of individual characters,
but by the verbal statements which they gave. A.Miami re-
spondent made a typical comment:

"One of the first things that was lacking in the whole

thing was what they call urban English. The English

was too perfect to depict the type of pe0ple they were

talking about. No da's or dem der's; everything was

perfect English."
Surprizingly, the roles or life styles of the characters were,
not with one exception, questioned. The policeman's (the
main character) role and acting style were constantly being
questioned by both classes Of respondents, although not by
either group of graduate critics. ,Negative criticism regard-
ing the policeman, especially in "Rotten Apples", was the
point in many discussions that generated a majority of the
negative criticism. His role as well as his acting generated
questions regarding the use of a policeman as a main charac-
ter:

"I just feel a Black Officer does not represent the

average Black man in the community ... may be a common

laborer to portray content." ‘
This negative pre-set attitude toward police by members of

the Black community may have affected the respondents' re-

actions to the series. We can also postulate that one Of

34

the reasons for greater negative responses to "Rotten Apples"‘
by all of the Blacks viewing the film was the more dominant
role played by the policeman in this production.

Two of the three hypothesis regarding the negative re—
sponses to individual productions by class, were not con—
firmed.

a. "Rotten Apples". The negative responses directed
at this production lie mainly with the acting of the main
character. His lack of "Urban English", his "histrionics"
and his role as a police officer detracted from his believ-
ability.

"He (the main character) came on so phoney, like with
this poetic jargon, you don't see OOps like this. It
isn't their bag."

"I didn't appreciate his histrionics..., the preaching
and flailing his arms around."

As previously stated the negative response of the re-
spondents to the main character, may have been equally the
product of both his role as a policeman and his acting.

The working class respondents, whom we predicted would
have a less negative response to "Rotten Apples", had equally
high negative responses to both productions. The middle
class responses which were believed to be more negative in
terms of "Rotten Apples" as compared to "Cry of the Silent"
and in relation to working class groups, proved to be less
negative generally, than the working class, toward the series.
and more negative in terms of their responses to "Rotten

Apples" as compared to "Cry of the Silent".

35

b. "Cry of the Silent". Negative comments regarding
this production were twofold. The introduction of the deaf
mute the respondents said was good, but much too long; the
lack of sound or music was a major criticism. The second
point of negative criticism came as a result of a scene in
which the main character is seen with his shirt Off, with
his wife on the couch. The following comment typifies the
negative attitude displayed:

"I don't think that this type of thing needs to be

brought in front of our youngsters, in front of people

period.... That statement that the school teacher

(wife) wanted to be used on her day Off, that gets

next to me."

As a result of the more involved plot, better produc-
tion techniques, and we must assume, limited use of the main
Character, this production received substantially less harsh
criticism than "Rotten Apples". Class made little difference
in the types of negative responses given, while the level
of these responses was significantly higher in the working
class group. However, overall negative response to "Cry
of the Silent" was significantly lower.

As has been stated previously, in terms of class differ-
ences, the middle class groups' positive responses were
higher generally and specifically for "Cry of the Silent".
.They, like the working class, disliked the character and role
of the Black policeman in a dominant position. .They verbal-

ized the fact that familiar Black stereotypes were being used,

but gave no negative responses to them. Their response to the

36

lack of "urban English" was not as pointed as that of the
working class group, but their knowledge Of specific produc-
tion problems and techniques was greater, rivaling that of
the White graduate critics. In essence, the middle class
responses were more pointed (and longer) but their areas of
concern did not differ drastically from those of the working
class groups.

The working class respondents showed a higher degree of
identification with both series examples. They were less
technical in their appraisal of the productions and dealt on
a level of realism of situations and characters similar to.
that of the Black graduates. They were generally more nega-
tive in their responses while giving the highest positive
value for "Rotten Apples" basically as a reaction to and
identification with, the dope addict in this production.

.3. Do you think peOple will watch it? (the series)—-
Despite a few extremely negative comments regarding the
series, the majority of persons questioned felt that this
series would be enjoyed by Black viewers, partially because
of its unique Black qualities and partially because of the
themes portrayed. The following responses are typical:

"I feel that most peOple that view it would enjoy it
and get something out of it."

"As bad as the acting is, I feel that it would have wide—
spread appeal and it would go over quite well, because
you don't get a show like this very often and it would
be watched for that reason...."

"I was willing to overlook the acting because it had a
worthwhile story to tell."

37

"The point is, on these soap Operas, people enjoy watch-
ing other peOple' miseries. This is really what they
are.... They will watch."

Two major questions which arose during the course of

this section of the interviews, which revealed a surprising
sophistication among Black viewers, were about when the pro-
grams would be scheduled and whether or not they would receive

proper promotion.

"I would certainly hOpe that it is not shown at 7:00
o'clock Sunday morning."

Negative responses to these questions, when given, were
completely against the series being shown. The area of con-
cern for these respondents came mainly as a result of the
acting and technical aspects and not the content or themes
used.

("Would you watch the series?“) "Not with that
policeman, (main character), no."

"The content'is there, but we don't have the acting
ability and the proper direction."

The majority of the respondents supported the program
and believed that Black viewers would watch the series if
they were made aware of the fact that it would be aired, and
it was not placed in a time slot which would restrict view-
ing. The question regarding national distribution of the
series received a similar positive response.

4. Do you think that the program should be put on 180
ptations nationally? Responses similar to that of the ques—
tion regarding viewing, were received from most respondents.

An additional point discussed was the feeling of the

38

respondents that this type of program would be an effective
means of informing the public of the problems of the Black
community.

."The man who produced this, he was Black and this showed,
he was aware of the problem.... He was facing the
problem."

"I was shocked by the impact and power of the message
that was given out. I really didn't think anybody
would be making statements like that."

A result which is worth noting was that, although the
mean values for the negative response questions were generally
higher than mean values from positive response questions
(the single exception being a larger positive mean for "Cry
of the Silent"). This fact may be off-set by the generally
positive responses given to the questions-favoring local
viewing and national distribution.

While attempts at generalization of the entire Black
pOpulation of this country from this study is questionable,
there are some major points of discussion which merit con-
sideration. We can conclude from the information given that
the responses of Black viewers from differing sociO-economic

backgrounds differ by degree rather than by type. We can
also conclude that the Black viewing audience are more sOphis—
ticated viewers of television than they have in the past been
given credit for. This can be concluded, not only because of
their awareness of the need for programming aimed at, and

modified for them, but also because of their awareness of

dramatic values, program promotion, and the effect of audience

39

size on the time slot for a program. In addition, we can see
that while Black viewers are highly critical of productions
about themselves (equally or more so than the White graduate
critics), they will overwhelmingly support an on-going
dramatic production series about themselves which has capable
actors, themes and content which accurately represent prob-
lems, life style and language in the Black community and is
technically well done.

H0pefully, this study will be one of many conducted in
the area of Black reactions to differing forms of television
presentation. There are many areas of Black media consump-
tion which need to be explored. Not only the study of the
relative effectiveness of differing format types, but also
black responses to differing personality and acting por-
trayals. In addition, a library of information should be
develOped covering differing responses to media presentations
of Blacks from diverse demographic and socioeconomic back-
grounds. ‘There are divergent Opinions and levels of per-
ception in the black community and without a basic knowledge
of the effect that these differences can make in viewer re—
actions, the producer of Black oriented programming can only
guess at the feelings, attitudes and perspectives of that

community.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bretz, R.; Dordick, Chester and Firetman. Telecommunication
in Urban DevelOpment. Rand Corporation, July, 1969.

Budd, Richard W.; Thorp, Robert K. Introduction to Content
Analysis. Macmillan, New York, 1967.

Christiansen, Richard. Review-—"Bird of the Iron Feather".
Educational Television. April, 1970.

Clark, Cedric. Race Identification and Television Violence.
Part I, Theory (Abstract).

Clark, Cedric. Race Identification and Television Violence.
Part II, Empirical Research (Abstract).

Eiselein, Dr. E. B.; Marshall, Wes. "Fiesta--Experiment in
Minority Audience Research and Programming."
Educational Television. February, 1971.

Haskins, Jack B How to Evaluate Mass Communications.
Advertizing Research FoundatiOn, Inc. .1968.

Hovland, Carl 1.; Lumsdaine, Arthur A.; Sheffield, Fred D.
Experiments in Mass Communications. Princeton Univer—
sity Press, 1949.

Greenberg, Bradley S.; Drevin, Brenda. "Mass Communication
among the Urban Poor." Project CUP No. 5. Michigan
State University, March, 1969.

Greenberg, Bradley S.; Dominick, J. R. "Blacks on TV:
Their Presence and Roles." Project CUP No. 8. Michigan
State University, May, 1969.

Greenberg, Bradley S.; Dominick, J. R. "Communication Among
the Urban Poor: Television Behavior Among Disadvantaged
Children." Project CUP No. 9. Michigan State Univer-
sity, November, 1969.

 

Greenberg, Bradley S.; Hanneman, Gerhard. "Racial Attitudes
and the Impact of Blacks on Television." Project CUP
NO. 10. Michigan State University, November, 1969.

40

41

Greenberg, Bradley S. "Communications and Related Behaviors
of a Sample of Cleveland Black Adults". Project CUP No.
1;, Michigan State University, September, 1970.

Krathwohl, : Bloom, Masia. Taxonomy of Educational
Objectives (The Classification of Educational Goals),
Handbook I Cognitive Domain. David McKay Co. 1966.

Krathwohl, ; Bloom, Masia. Taxonomy of Educational
Objectives (The Claspification of Educational Goal§)_
Handbook II The Affective Domain. David.McKay Co. 1964.

Meyer, Richard J. "ETV and the Ghetto". The Educational
Broadcasting Review. August, 1968.

National Association of Educational Broadcasters—-Office Of
Minority Affairs. "Minority Employment Practices of
Public Television Stations." Washington, D. C. October,

 

 

1971.
Nafzingger, Ralph 0.; White, David. Introduction to Mass
Communications Research. L. S. U. Press. 1958.
Newsweek. "Soul Opera." Vol. 75, September, 1970.

Pool, Ithiel DeSola. Trends in Content Analysis. University
of Illinois Press. Urbana, 1959.

Sloan, Helen Y. "The Job.Man Caravan." Educational Tele—
vision. May, 1971.

Time. "Soul Drama--Chicago's New Series Entitled Bird of
the Iron Feather." Vol. 95, February 23, 1970.

University of Michigan Survey Research Center. "A Manual
for Coders.‘I Ann Arbor, Michigan. 1961.

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I

TABLES

42

43

TABLE 1

GENERAL LIKE AND GENERAL DISLIKE VALUES*

 

 

General Likea

General Dislikeb

 

£131
1. Philadelphia
2. Los Angeles
3. Cleveland
4. Miami
5. New Orleans
21—355.
Middle class
Working class

Total

.8333 (n=l8)
.9000 (n=20)
1.0000 (n=1l)
1.0000 (n=l7)

1.0000 (11:20)

.9787 (n=47)
.8974 (n=39)
.9419* (n=86)

1.3333 (n=12)
1.1818 (n=ll)
1.4286 (n=7)
1.0769 (n=13)
.9474 (n=l9)

1.0244 (n=41)
1.3809 (n=21)
l.1452* (n=62)

 

*All mean values have been rounded to four decimal places.

3The following values represent the positive arithmetic mean

response values (0-2) from the question:
about the series?"

b

"What did you like

The following values represent the negative arithmetic mean

response values (0 to —2) from the questions: "What did you

dislike about the series?"

(For means<of comparison these

values have been converted to positive values.)

44

TABLE 2

LIKE VALUES BY PRODUCTION*

 

 

ProductionuIa Like Production IIb Like

 

9131
1. Philadelphia 1.1250 (n=l6) 1.2308 (n=13)
2. Los Angeles .8000 (n=10) 1.5000 (n=l4)
3 Cleveland .5000 (n=2) .6667 (n=9)
4. Miami 1.1000 (n=10) 1.000 (n=9)
5. New Orleans 1.0000 (n=11) 1.1429 (n=l4)
glass
Middle class .963 (n=27) 1.2121 (n=33)
Working class ~l.0455 (n=22) 1.077 (n=26)
Total 1.0000 (n=49) 1.1525 (n=59)

 

*The following values represent positive responses (0-2)

from the question, "What did you like about the production?"
which referred to a specific production.
aProduction I is "Rotten Apples"

bProduction II is "Cry of the Silent"

45

TABLE 3

DISLIKE VALUES BY PRODUCTION*

 

 

 

Production Ia Production IIb
Dislike Dislike
Qipy_
1. Philadelphia 1.4167 (n=12) .7500 (n=4)
2. Los Angeles 1.0000 (n=7) 1.5000 (n=4)
3. Cleveland 1.2500 (n=4) 1.3333 (n=3)
4. Miami 1.3000 (n=10) 1.0000 (n=6)
5. New Orleans 1.0000 (n=10) .8889 (n=9)
931%
Middle class 1.1739 (n=23) 1.0000 (n=22)
Working class 1.2500 (n=20) 1.2500 (n=4)
Total 1.2093 (n=43) 1.0325 (n=26)

 

*The following values represent negative responses (0 to -2)
from the question: "What did you dislike about the produc-
tion?" which referred to "specific productions".

aProduction I-—"Rotten Apples”

bProduction II-—"Cry of the Silent"

46

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APPENDIX II

CODE BOOK

BLACK REACTIONS TO "THE BIRD OF THE IRON FEATHER"

Thesis: Thomas A. Hardy

47

Section I.

Section II.

Section III.

48

CODE BOOK SECTIONS

General Information

Plot Breakdown (outline)

Coding Sheets

49

CODE BOOK

 

The following study is being conducted in COOperation
with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It is one of
the few studies being done nationally which deals with the
area of Black program preferences. The study came about as
a result of a series produced by the Educational station,
WTTW, in Chicago, entitled “Bird of the Iron Feather". The
series was somewhat unique in that it applied both "soap
Opera" format and an almost entirely Black staff and crew.
.In this study, we will attempt to find whether this type of
program would be effective in terms of Educational television
programming for the Black community.

The method Of investigations is Content Analysis. You
as coders will be applying a five point psychological scale
to individual responses given by Black viewers of two
examples Of "Bird". The taped responses were supplied by
the Corporation and represent both middle class and working
class reactions from five major cities (Philadelphia, Cleve—
land, Miami, New Orleans, and Los Angeles). The tapes have
been pre-edited, with a verbal introduction to each section
and test tones between individual responses.

In order to facilitate your coding session, you will
be provided with a plot breakdown of the series examples

in an outline form and you will also be asked to view the

50

series examples seen by the respondents, twice, in order to
completely familiarize yourself with any specific reference
a respondent might make to a program.
You will be asked to place each response into one of
five categories:
Categories +2 and -2:
.These categories indicate that the respondent
expresses an attitude at one end of the scale with
definite or strong feeling. If there is any doubt, the
response should be coded +1 or —1.
a. a positive or negative answer which is supported by
a thorough and spontaneous explanation.
b. a positive or negative answer expressed in an

emphatic way.

Categories +1 and —1:

Some positive or negative feeling expressed.

a. positive or negative feeling not supported by a
spontaneous explanation or expressed without
emphasis.

b. a largely positive or negative answer with some
reservations in the Opposite direction so that the
net effect is either positive or negative.

c. positive or negative feeling expressed with

hesitation: "I suppose", "It's probably".

51

Category 0:

This category indicates that the respondent is "on the

fence" or neutral, that he clearly does not wish to

place himself or cannot place himself in either half of
the scale.

a. pro-con: a combination of both positive and negative

attitudes expressed with equal emphasis.

b. a neutral attitude which is expressed by the respond-

ent: "It doesn't make any difference to me", etc.

c. conditional attitudes expressed without any leaning

in either direction.

Investigation of the coding sheets will reveal that there
are a maximum of three possible values that can be given to
any one response. At least one numerical value should be
given to each response under the “general" heading. .Numerical
values should also be given for "Specific" references to any
pne production (such as "I liked the first one but not the
second", "the dope addict was very good" (Production I),

"The social worker acted his butt Off!" (Production II).
The "General" response area should be your estimation of the
entire response.

During the course of the listening period, certain
responses may be interrupted by clarifications of the dis-
cussion leader or extraneous comments by other group members.

Please disregard when evaluating the responses.

52

Each coder must be as Objective as possible. DO not make
inferences from what is not there. Attempt to void your per-

sonal objective reactions to the given responses.

53

THESIS: BIRD OF THE IRON FEATHER--CRITIQUE

I. Segment title (pertinent information

A. Subject area (area of education)

1. specific references to subject area
B. Production elements

1. direction (camera placement shots, etc.)

2. staging (character positioning)

3. lighting

4. sets

5. writing (style, relationships, etc.)
C. Plot breakdown

1. character interactions

2. situation formation

II. "Rotten Apples" (playdate April 9, 1970)

A. Youth drug addiction problems in Black community
1. initial references were made to an entire self-
perpetuating system
a. 16,000 in the Chicago area
b. system is aided and abetted by the police
2. futility of Jonah's position within this system
a. he can only effect a small part
3. the unseen commander (white powerstructure) is
‘aware and either part or party to the drug
system
4. references to the life style of the young
addicts
a. robbery
b. sleeping with his hat on
c. gets up feeling bad needing stuff
5. some reasons for Black disrespect of Police
3. bribery of Bobby
b. Black c0p's (vines) attitude Of live and
let live
c. he had "made it" and didn't worry about what
really happened in the ghetto
B. Production elements
1. direction
a. two camera set (cross shooting)
b. boom mike system
c. maximum use of close-ups and reaction shots

2. staging
a. most characters were positioned for cross
shooting

i. facing each other

54

b. use of differing levels in positioning used
i. vines between Lieutenant and Jonah
3. 1ighting--qua1ity
a. may or may not have been good
b. reproduction problems may have been caused
by the kinescope
4. sets draw on type written paper
5. writing
a. style over all was natural for the situa-
tions
b. time factor may have restricted some
sequences
c. room was left within the writing for the
actors.interpretation
C. Plot breakdown

1. general--Jonah (middle level police) attempts to
catch some higher level peOple in the dOpe system
with aid of a young friend, Bobby, who is a
junkie (potential addict)

2. Jonah wants to use Bobby partially because of a
former close relationship which he had had with
Bobby and his brother who had Od'd (took an over-
dose)

a. a new relationship had to be formed because
of both men's new roles (COp vs addicts)

b. the new relationship was also to be a means-
of Bobby obtaining treatment for his habit

c. first a new level of trust had to be created

3. a split was also apparent within the police ranks

as to Jonah's techniques
a. between Jonah and Summerville (the narcotics
division lieutenant)
b. Jonah's new techniques represented a "nega-
tive" reaction within the dope world system

4. unknown OOOperation between Buggy (the dOpe
dealer) and Summerville

5. Bribery Bobby was set-up by Jonah in order to
uncover higher level dope peOple

a. the success of the bribery plan only un-
covered a small part of the over—all police
collaboration scheme

"Cry of the Silent" (November 17, 1969)

A. The Fairness of the Welfare (Government supported)
program
1. the facts of the couples' existence
a..Blackness
b. deaf mutes
c. living in a basement apartment, on partial
welfare and family help

2.

3.

4.

5.

55

d. living on the bare necessities
Mrs. Rhodes (Jonah's wife) comments to the white
social worker. ‘
a. they pay state, local and Federal taxes
b. if there is government subsidy (billions)
for major corporations and farmers being
paid not to grow food, why can't her rela-
tives receive a little more
Simon and Amanda (deaf—mute couple) only need the
money until work can be found
a. they want to be contributing members of
society
the wide cultural gulf which is apparent between
the Black characters and the white social worker
a. the difference between the social worker's
reactions in Jonah's home and in Simon's
b. he reacted from a position of power only in
the second case
c. covert racism which even the social worker
is unaware of \
~subtle hate and distrust shown by Jonah's family

B. Production aspects

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

direction
a. first section was very drawn-out
b. no sound caused loss of attention
c. fewer close—ups were used in the basement
segments
staging
a. first segment may have been too staged
b. same character level differences, Simon and
Amanda between Jonah's brother and the
social worker
lighting
a. it may have been intentional but the rela-
tive lighting between Jonah's home and
Simon's was very evident (Simon's was lower)
sets
a. as realistic as possible the basement rooms
were well done even to the furnishing
writing
a. problems of Jonah's brother speaking to his
aunt and uncle only in the second half
b. problem between emotional changes and the
time factors involved

C. Plot breakdown
l. general--Jonah's aunt and uncle (deafemutes)

have applied for increase in welfare benefits
a..reasons
i. the original payments were not enough
ii. support from Simon's nephews was
decreasing. ~One, a barber had afros to
contend with, and the other, Jonah, was
attempting to buy a new home

56

the new white social worker attempts a perfunc-
tory check on the couple's financial situation
a. through Jonah first
b. second--directly with Simon and Amanda
Jonah must make a decision as to which part of
his family will stay in the ghetto and which
will leave
the social worker reactions are
a. first of all that he cannot help them
b. but if Jonah (a policeman) will talk to
his commissioner then he could help them
c. to him this playing by the rules(?)
Jonah's brother is disgusted by this whole situa-
tion
a. his reaction give indications of leading
some future action

APPENDIX III
CRITIQUE OF "BIRD OF THE IRON FEATHER"
WHITE GRADUATE STUDENTS

PRODUCTION ASPECTS

57

58

CRITIQUE OF "BIRD OF THE IRON FEATHER"
WHITE GRADUATE STUDENTS

PRODUCTION ASPECTS

I would like each of you to give your impression regarding
the technical aspects of the following productions. Please
be as Objective as possible regarding the production aspects
of the following films.

1. Found below are floor plans for all major scenes of the
first production. Please draw in the positions you be-
lieve the cameras were in.

 

"Rotten Apples" (apartment)

IT I
/ window ji\\

—r—fireplace

 

 

 

4—bed

—door a
\

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Rotten Apples" (vine's office)

filin _fi_ I window I j_filing
cabiget cabinet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

’-

desk -—-door

 

 

 

 

59

 

”Cry Of the Silent" (uncles home)

 

 

_ice box

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ——stairway 4

\ ' -
/\/T.v. S°fa I
/—door

{kitchen ~~
chair . table (

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Cry of the Silent“ (Jonah's apartment)

 

///\ door

 

 

sofa I

E- coffee : fireplace
0 —chair

 

 

 

2. Did the above staging contribute to the effectiveness of
the story? (This would include character as well as
camera positioning.)

6O

3. What staging changes would have increased effectiveness?

4. Direction: What were your reactions to the show's direc—
tion? (This would include such areas as camera shots,
miking, timing and show continuity.)

5. Were the series Open and close used effectively? Was the
film editing well done?

6. Was the medium Of television used to its best advantage
in the examples you have just seen? Explain.

61

CRITIQUE OF ”BIRD OF THE IRON FEATHER"
BLACK GRADUATE STUDENTS

REALISM

I WOULD LIKE EACH OF YOU TO GIVE YOUR REACTIONS TO THE REALISM
OF THE SITUATIONS AND THE CHARACTERS IN THE FOLLOWING PRODUC-

TIONS.

Were the settings which you observed typical of the

1. Sets:
Did the sets portray

types of characters portrayed?
realistic living situations?

Was the language used natural or injected into

2.,Acting:
Was the speech similar to speech heard on

the setting?
the "street"?

62

3. Did the characters interact in a natural way? If you
observed the situation in real life what would be your
reactions?

4. Was the subject or theme of the program well portrayed?
Was the problem area well focused upon?

5. Could the situation which you have just seen actually
occur?

6- What did you learn from the productions?

II III.IIIlIIIllIIIIllIIIIl III ”III

380