THE LANSING MEDIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY: A STUDY OF GENERAL PROBLEMS AND THE AUDIENCE FOR THE RADIO PROGRAM. “VARIEDADES EN ESPANOL” AND THE TELEVISION PROGRAM, “LA REVISTA” Thesis for the Degree M M. A. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY RAMON I.. MERLOS 1970 3‘ none sous -, noox amnmn RS NC. 1 I I '. II‘Kuamm emu: I " S'NEPOIT..WIICAI - T1 for twc Michiga 209 Spa T? are the Lansing tion, I frequer 0f the were tI alS0 ir with t? of life Priests govern” ABSTRACT THE LANSING MEXICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY: A STUDY OF GENERAL PROBLEMS AND THE AUDIENCE FOR THE RADIO PROGRAM, "VARIEDADES EN ESPANOL" AND THE TELEVISION PROGRAM, "LA REVISTA" BY RamOn L. Merlos This study attempted to analyze the intended audience for two Spanish language programs produced and broadcast by Michigan State University. Interviews were conducted with 209 Spanish-speaking people in the Lansing, Michigan area: The first part of the study intended to find out what are the main needs and problems of the Spanish—speaking Lansing Community and what solutions are suggested. Educa- tion, housing, employment and discrimination were the most frequently mentioned problems. More interest on the part of the government and more employment for bilingual people were the most frequently mentioned solutions. Respondents also indicated the Community leaders who were most conversant with the problems. The leaders mentioned come from all walks of life: politics to agriculture, social workers, barbers, priests, ministers, civil rights, business, arts, school, government, service class and mass communication. The most frequeI a pane grams. potent from T» substa; is the were a; Ramén L. Merlos frequently-mentioned leaders will be asked to participate in a panel for content suggestions and evaluation of the pro- grams. Both programs serve a very high percentage of the potential Spanish-speaking audience. The great majority came from Texas or Mexico. All segments of the programs had a substantial following. The music offered in both programs is the dominant attraction, but the information sections were also highly valued. THE LANSING MEXICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY: A STUDY OF GENERAL PROBLEMS AND THE AUDIENCE FOR THE RADIO PROGRAM, "VARIEDADES EN ESPANOL" AND THE TELEVISION PROGRAM, "LA REVISTA" BY I I‘) Ramon LEJMerlos 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 1970 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. Director of Thesis ii I guidanc I also ance ir Page, n Sity ar the ma I Public Fellows Si who ser Fr. Ph: to all Lc brOthel facets ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to thank Dr. Thomas Baldwin for his constant guidance and advice in the preparation of this study. I also wish to thank Steve Mauche for his valuable assist- ance in the whole work. Special thanks are due to Robert Page, manager of the station, WMSB, Michigan State Univer- sity and Cora Jewell for her help in translating some of the materials used herein. I especially extend my thanks to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for selecting me as one of the Career Fellows for 1969-1970. Sincere appreciation to the Rt. Rev. John Bresingham who sent me to study at Michigan State University, to Fr. Photius Donahue for his spiritual and moral advice and to all my friends from St. Andrew Orthodox Church. Loving thanks to my fiancee Diane Pierce and to my brother Lucas Merlos for their encouragement in all the facets of this thesis. “Non nobis, Domine, non nobis, sed tibi gloria sit" (Ps.) iii ‘I‘fi't'ir— .._ CHAPTI II. III. IV. APPEND: HEO'UL‘UUOCU)! TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER Page I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 General Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 II. PROCEDURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 III. FINDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 1. "La Revista" Program . . . . . . . . . . 15 A. Viewership. . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 B. Program Format. . . . . . . . . . . 16 2. "Variedades en Espafiol" Program. . . . . 19 A. Listenership. . . . . . . . . . . . 19 B. Program Format. . . . . . . . . . . 21 C. Broadcast Time and Day. . . . . . . 22 5. Investigation of Community Problems. . . 23 A. Community Needs and Solutions . . . 23 B. Demographic Characteristics . . . . 25 IV. CONCLUSIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 1. "La Revista" . . . J . . . . . . . . . . 26 2. "Variedades en Espanol". . . . . . . . . 28 APPENDICES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 A. English Translation of Questionnaire . . . . . 51 B. Spanish Translation of Questionnaire . . . . . 59 C. Interview Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 D. Instructions for Interviewers. . . . . . . . . 47 E. Most Liked Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 F. Suggestions to Improve Program . . . . . . . . 50 G. Definition of Needs; . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 H. .Defihition of.SOlutionS. . . . . . . . . . . . 53 1- Most Mentioned Persons as Leaders. . . . . . . 54 iv TABLE II. III. IV. VI. LIST OF TABLES TABLE Page I. Spanish—speaking audience for "La Revista". . . 16 II. Program elements volunteered as most liked by viewers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 III. Lansing area Spanish-speaking audience for "Variedades en Espafiol" . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 IV. Program elements volunteered as most liked by listeners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 V. Preferred time schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 VI. Community problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION There are two Spanish language programs in the broad- casting services offered by Michigan State University: "La Revista", a weekly half-hour TV program with news, entertainment, music, reports and stories for the Mexican- Americans living in the Central Michigan area and "Variedades en EspafiOl", a one-hour radio program with music, news and information for the same audience. "La Revista“ is a program that began broadcasting in the fall of 1968. Its purpose was to serve the whole Spanish- speaking population and originally it had the name of "La Revista Latina". It had more or less the same format as at present. However, due to the fact that "La Revista Latina" attempted to cover so much of South and Central America, there was protest from the Mexican Americans who: a) did not understand the high type of language used by most of the broadcasters who, by the way, were either from Peru, Argentina or Mexico, b) were not interested in the type of news that did not concern them directly, and c) wanted more of the ldexican-American culture and music performed by their own people“ compri their R either Mexica Americ the 19 Signif. Revista and the archite "I six mor iS havj aCCordj Ir attempt Mexicar establi and eva MO 1) the aSpects for des desirab people. On the other hand, the non-Mexican-Americans who comprise less than 5% of the population, demanded more of their own news, music, and culture in the program. With these two alternatives WMSB had to make a decision: either to satisfy the minority of the Spanish speaking, non- Mexican-American populatiom or the 95% who are Mexican- Americans. The decision was in favor of the latter and so in the 1969-1970 season the Spanish language program was changed significantly. The name of the program is no longer "La Revista Latina" but "La Revista“ instead. The Aztec Calendar and the triangular shape which is typical of Mexican art and architecture characterize the setting of the program. "Variedades en Espahol" has been on the air less than six months and it already shows the great influence that it is having on the Mexican—Americans who have been very receptive according to the results of the present study. In the most general sense, this study represents an attempt to determine the effect of the programs in the Mexican—American community and to lay the groundwork for establishing an advisory panel for continuing consultation and evaluation of the programs. More specifically, the survey was designed to determine: 1) the size of the audiences for the two programs, 2) what aspects of the programs are most appreciated, 5) suggestions for desired content not now being presented, 4) the most desirable broadcast time, 5) how peOple learned about the radio program (for promotional purposes), and 6) the desir- ability of additional programming. It was also intended to determine the special problems and needs of the Mexican-American community so that the pro- gramming might be designed to most effectively serve its intended audience. Respondents were further asked to identify leaders in the community whom they thought were most repre- sentative of their interests. The intention was to identify, in an unbiased way, a pool of Mexican—American community leaders, who might be later called upon to make program sug- gestions and evaluations. It was difficult to locate anything on the listening habits of the Mexican-American audience in Lansing. In 1969 Grafton Trout, Associate Professor of Sociology at Michigan State University, conducted a general study in the communi— cation media for the whole state of Michigan. 'It did not break out the Lansing area. Trout's general findings on mass communication. behavior will be mentioned in one of the following sections. The study reported here deals with the two programs, "La Revista" and "Variedades en Espafiol", which have been in existence for less than two years in an area where no similar service existed before. This is the first analysis of the audience for these programs. The collabora- tion of bilingual interviewers and community workers and students acquainted with the Mexican-American community made the study possible. General Background Mexican-Americans constitute the second largest minority group in the United States. Altogether they number some 10,000,000. .vawaadd to this the rest of the Spanish people coming from South America, Central America and Spain, we arrive at a figure of Spanish-Americans close to 15,000,000. About 6,000,000 are.Mexican-Americans located primarily in the Southwest. Texas and California alone have more than 2,000,000 each, with considerable concentrations in the states of Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico, and also in cities like Chicago, New York, Lansing and Kansas City. Spanish-Americans, direct descendants of the original Spanish settlers, are found mostly in northern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northern California, and parts of Nevada and Utah. They account for some 200,000. There are approxi- mately one and a half million Puerto Ricans, located mostly in New York City, but also there is a great number in other areas such as New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Connecti- cut and Chicago. Cubans number about 500,000, two-thirds of whom are located in Miami, and the rest scattered throughout the country. Flights from Cuba bring about 1,000 every week. Most of them are immediately relocated outside of the Miami area, but eventually many of them resettle at this most Cuban of United States cities. The remaining million and a half Spanish—Speaking represent all of the other Latin American Nations. They are either recent arrivals v/// or second generation. It is doubtful whether any United States city with more than 100,000 does not have a sizeable pOpulation of Spanish speaking people. Michigan is one of the states having a very heavy population of Mexican-Americans with 150,000 the year around 1 The population of and close to 200,000 during the summer. the Mexican-American alone in the Greater Lansing area (Ingham county) is more than 15,000 persons, more than 1,200 families in the metropolitan area of Lansing.2 The popula-' tion is continually growing, due in part to many of the migrant families which finally decide to become established in the city. Also, many families arrive directly from Mexico when another member of the family is already a resi- dent of the city. For more reasons than one it would be inaccurate to re- gard these 15,000,000 Hispanic-Americans as a foreign com- munity. Close to 90 percent are United States citizens. 1Based on Michigan Civil Right Commission estimate of .Mexican-Americans in the state of Michigan. 2Population estimate for the greater Lansing area as reported by the Lansing City Demonstration Agency, Model Cities Program. Contrary to popular belief, immigration from Latin America, except for the quite exceptional case of Cubans, may now have reached an all time low. As of July 1, 1968 the new United States immigration law puts a limit of 20,000 immigrants from any single independent country in one year, with a total allowable of 120,000 for the Western Hemisphere which was formerly under non-quota classification and had no numerical limit.3 ,Since 1950, immigration from Mexico, has not exceeded the 1965 peak of 55,986 for a twelve month period. The main reason:fln:the non-foreign character of the Spanish-speaking people in the United States is the obvious and undeniable historical fact that they were here first. They were here long before the Pilgrims or Puritans made their appearance. Robert Frost's famous line may legitimately be reversed by MexicaneAmericans: "The land was ours before we were the land's". Unfortunately, it was by military conquest that the first Spanish-speaking United States citizens became the land's. Former Mexican and Spanish citizens were left no choice by their defeat in the Texas War of Independence of 1856, the Mexican War of 1946-1948 and the Spanish—American ‘War of 1898. History teaches us that conquered people end ‘being alienated and slaves of their conquistadores. Eventual- ly a stereotype builds around them: simple, nap, mahana, childlike, pinata, and the timely application of legal and 3Immigration Laws of the United States; Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (166 Stat. 165), as amended. economic force by the wielders of power when the assertion of cultural deviancy transcends the restraint of a society committed to melting differences away. It is not my inten— tion to discuss the fact of acculturation that has led to "the melting pot" that comprises the whole United States. However, it should be known that the Mexican-American has been here long before the Irish-American, the German-American, the Italian-American, the French—American or the Russian- American, but only he remains a hyphenate—-"Mexican-American". Maybe this is due to the fact that a continuous flux of im- migration comes every year from Mexico and Latin America, or maybe it is because the Spanish-speaking people are deeply rooted in their own culture which is older than the one the United States has vainly tried to impose on them. The ranks of conquered people were later swelled by several waves of refugee immigrants. As early as 1910-1925 Mexicans fled to the United States from the Revolution and its aftermath, and as late as 1959-70 of Cubans abandoning their island to Castro's Marxist experiment. Other waves of Mexican and Puerto Rican immigrants have come and gone since the 1920's, according to the United States demand for cheap agricultural and factory labor. "Prestige" immigration from Latin America has been minimal. The fact still remains that even the professional people had to start from scratch since all of them came from a country where English was not the official language. In the melting-pot process of the United States, there is a willingness to accept foreign holidays, foods, and some expressions of speech. However, it is assumed that every acculturated American shares certain core values with the rest of the population. His behavior must be compre- hensible and predictable in most situations. Every American is expectedtxihave maximum faith in America, science, and progress. Any ethnic group that fails to display these three tenets of faith will remain outside the mainstream of Ameri- can life and will be designated by a distinctive label. If such a group is distinguished by recognizable physical ges- tures or reliance on a foreign language, the process of assimilation may be further slowed. Today, the Mexican-Americans are undergoing accultura— tion in the American melting pot but many seem to be well- insulated against the melting process. They cherish much of their Mexican cultural heritage as too precious and univers- ally valid to be abandoned. Many Americans, on the other hand, are recognizing the value of this position and instead of pushing for a¢culturation, they are in favor of a bi- culturation as well as for bilingualism.4 This indeed seems to be a more realistic and humane solution to the problem of our Mexican‘American citizens. It is commendable that the United States federal government is looking with more favor ‘Report from Mexican American Affairs Unit, August 1969. 'United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, ()ffice of Education. on the bilingual system.5 It is hoped that over the years this will bring both elements to a mutual understanding and appreciation. De facto, it was found in the State of Michigan that the majority of adult Mexican-American heads of household are bilingual. Almost all speak at least some English (men, 97%; women, 95%). Adults tend to speak Spanish when they speak to other adults and English when they speak to their children. About one-third of the adult population claims to speak both English and Spanish with equal frequency. Bi-literacy among Mexican-Americans is also high, although it is not as common as bilingual ability. However, more people are able to write English than Spanish, and a greater number prefer to read in 'English than in Spanish. Nevertheless, the great majority of adult people can write Spanish. This is not so with the children who may lose the bilingual treasure unless the ,Michigan schools continue the bilingual programs. There are many children who still speak, read and also write Spanish, but this is due to the fact that they were in a Spanish country for at least a period of six years. According to the Trout study, when given the choice, literate heads of household in Michigan prefer reading in English as opposed to Spanish by a ratio of about six to four. Mexican-American adults in Michigan are frequent users of the principal media of mass communication. They listen to 5Ibid. 10 radio or view television as often as, if not more than, non- Mexican-Americans in urban centers of the state. Their use of newspapers and magazines, although less frequent than among the rest of the population, is nevertheless widespread. Finally, the Spanish language radio programs which are broad— cast once or twice a week over stations in most of the counties are listened to by a heavy majority of the Mexican- Americans.6 The present study on "Variedades en Espafiol" (radio program on WKAR-AM, Michigan State University) and "La Revista" (television program on WMSB, Michigan State University), bears this out. The problems and opportunities for serVing the Spanish- speaking community are outlined by Eduardo Moreno, a pioneer in Spanish language programming. The Spanish-speaking market in radio and television is in dire need of self evaluation, if not for ethical or legal reasons, at least for reasons of survival. Its audiences are diminishing, loyalties are changing and there is a concerted effort, nationally, to get the monolingual person out of his state of ignorance and supposed bliss. Things must change radically in the areas of service to the community and protection of the consumer and the educational broadcaster will have to step in to help fill the vacuum. The more aggressive local leadership is already talking of more determinate steps to attract the attention of the federal regulatory agencies, especially the Federal Communications Commis- sion. So the time for action is now. Experience in non-commercial broadcasting shows, at present, many Vehicles already tried in radio for community develop- ment with interesting results. The British Broadcasting Corporation is a world model in this field. Our own Voice of America prepares for international presentation, 6Grafton Trout, "Language, Literacy and Exposure to Mass ldedia" (unpublished study, 1969). 11 good quality, non-commercial broadcasts, which can be easily duplicated by a local station. Mexico, Colombia and Bolivia are, among the Latin American nations, excellent examples of the good use of radio and tele- vision for educational and community purposes. In the Spanish-language market, the most pressing needs are for general and consumer education, and for development of local leadership, as well as for services to the community groups. The improvement of intercom- munity dialogue, the dissemination of information on good and adequate nutrition, and on health matters and the recognition of the cultural contributions of the minority groups are other important areas of concern. While the vehicle is person oriented, it will never- theless require total community participation. A deter- mined merchandising and community relations effort can help it acquire its status of ”our own thing'. To serve implies a projection beyond oneself, and our Spanish— language communities in the United States are very much in need of such an effort, especially from radio. 7Broadcasting and Social Action. National Association of Educational Broadcasters, Washington, D. C., November 1969. "The Spanish Language Market: Promises, Premises and Possibilities" by Eduardo Moreno, pp. 41-46. CHAPTER II PROCEDURES It was impossible to design a probability sample of Mexican-Americans in the central Michigan area. No complete frame, or list, existed. After exhausting all other possi- bilities, the greater Lansing telephone directory was combed, name-by-name for all Spanish surnames. This provided a convenient list for a telephone survey but, of course, it contained a bias that probably over-represented the better established, higher income families. To reduce the telephone bias, somewhat, it was decided to interview whoever answered the phone. This increased the likelihood that we would reach some of the persons who were unlisted, where two or more families were using one telephone. A sample was drawn systematically from the list. The starting point was selected randomly and names Were taken at a fixed skip interval to exhaust the list and complete a sample of 250. Interviewers completed calls to 209 respond- ents. The remaining 41 were not at home after repeated call- backs, or had moved. None of the sample who were reached refused to cooperate although some did not answer every question. 12 15 Interviewers were instructed to attempt to obtain an equal number of men and women. ‘The actual proportion was 55%;men, 45% women. Since it was considered desirable to get a sampling of teenagers, all persons responding to the phone call were interviewed other than youngsters, as indi- cated by the voice. An English translation of the questionnaire is included as Appendix A; the Spanish translation is Appendix B. It was written originally in English, translated to Mexican- American Spanish by the author and then translated back to English by still another person. The two English versions were then compared--the original and the back-translation. Minor differences were resolved by the two translators and the questionnaire was reproduced in both Spanish and English. Interviewing was all done in Spanish, unless the respondent indicated a preference for using English.‘ Only 16 percent of the respondents elected to do so. The instrument was pilot-tested with ten persons. A few minor changes were made as a result. The interviewer introduced himself as representing Michigan State University in a study of community needs and interests. No mention of the special interest in the Mexican- American community and radio or television programming was made at this point. The questions opened with an easily-answered item about residence in the area. This was followed by the sequence on 14 community needs, and then the question on community leaders. The remaining questions were about the two programs and scheduling. Most of the questions had a discrete number of possible responses which could be checked off by the interviewer (although they were not actually read to the respondent). These were precoded. Some questions were open end. Each of these were coded by at least two persons according to a category system that accommodated most of the responses. The codes were then written on the questionnaire prior to key punching. Therefore all responses were punched directly from the questionnaire, without any intermediate steps, minimizing error in transfer. Twelve interviewers, seven men and five women, made the calls. All were bilingual. They were contacted individually by the author who explained the procedures and left a printed set of instructions. Names and occupations of the inter- viewers are listed in Appendix C; the instructions in Appen- dix D. Original calls and callbacks were made over a period of four days in January 1970. CHAPTER III FINDINGS 1. "La Revista“ Program A. Viewership A total of 85 percent of the respondents had been ex- posed to "La Revista". Of the 15 percent who had not seen the program, only three percent knew about the program. Eleven percent claimed no knowledge of the program. (Two people did not respond to the question.) It is perhaps important to mention that the program had only been on the air for the 1969-70 season for 10 weeks at the time of the survey. It can be inferred that more than 11,050 persons have seen the program1 in the greater Lansing area. The station coverage area also includes communities such as Battle Creek, Jackson, and St. Johns, where there is a large Mexican- .American population. Including these areas would no doubt substantially increase the audience, although promotion has not been as heavy outside the Lansing area. Of the people 1This figure is the 85 percent of the population esti- Inate for the greater Lansing area as reported by the Lansing (Zity Demonstration Agency, Model Cities Program. 15 16 who had viewed the program, 81 percent said they tried to watch every week. For the entire sample, including those who did not know about the program, the percentage of people attempting to watch every week is 68. Table I.--Spanish-speaking audience for "La Revista". Percentage of Projected total sample Lansing (n S 209) area People exposed to "La Revista" at least once 85 8500 View "La Revista" weekly 68 6800 B. Program Format Thirty percent simply answered that they liked every- thing in the program, or that they were satisfied with the entire format. .Some persons made the comment that before they had nothing in Spanish and the mere fact that "La Revista" was on the air meant a lot to them. Of the 70 per- cent who specified something as the most liked, the following results were obtained. When asked to identify things most liked about the program, most respondents were willing and able to volunteer some segment or aspect which they received favorably. \lll’ul‘l 17 The section most liked was music. They seem to like all kinds of music, especially Mexican music and Mexican style music from Texas. Seventy-one percent of the people who had seen the program mentioned specifically that they like it. "Revista Reports" drew 57 percent mentions. This section includes interviews with different leaders of the community or with persons who have prominent positions and want to con- vey information to the Mexican-American people via the program. There were 56 percent of the viewers who mentioned that the program is in Spanish. This does not mean that the other respondents did not appreciate the fact that "La Revista" is in Spanish; it simply means that they were specific in men- tioning that it is in 'Spanish'. In the "Revista Calendar" segment, information and news is provided. There were a large number of people asking for more news from Mexico and Latin America as well as for more social news. Forty percent mentioned this segment. Another program department is named "Ask Revista". Specific problems are treated at the suggestion of the public; subjects such as cyclamates, license plates and civil defense are treated. Thirty-eight percent of the viewers like this section. Finally, for the department called "Children's Stories" there were 57 percent of the viewers mentioned that they liked the fact that there are some stories for their children. 18 Table II.—-Program elements volunteered as most liked by viewers. Percent of people Number of who had seen program; Program Departments mentions mentioning item Music 128 71 Revista Report 101 57 Spanish Language 99 56 Calendar 71 40 Ask Revista 67 58 Children Stories 58 51 Other miscellaneous comments about "most liked" features are included in Appendix E. Only five percent of the re- spondents mentioned dissatisfaction with specific segments of the program. Some of these comménts included: "Too short"; "Better pronunciation": "Not so much repetition"; "Not enough news"; "More music and dances"; "More music--you are giving the impression that the only Mexican music is 'Conjuntos'"; "It is not in color"; "News"; ”Prefers the lady *who announced last year", etc. Twenty-six percent suggested ways to improve the program. frhese comments did not fall easily into general categories. 'They are reproduced in Appendices E and F. 19 2. "Variedades en EspaholflgProgram A. Listenership A large, regular pattern of listenership was found for "Variedades en Espahol." Almost six out of ten (57%) of. Lansing's Spanish-speaking residents say they have heard the program. Sixty percent of the listeners say they hear the program every week; 80 percent listen at least every other week. Assuming the sample is representative of the Lansing area Mexican-American population, these figures project to a weekly Lansing, teenage-adult audience of 5500 people and a cumulative audience for a two-week period of 4500 (see Table III, on the following page). The survey area includes only a portion of the coverage area of the station. There are approximately 100,000 Mexican- 1 If there is a similar Americans within the coverage area. interest in the program throughout the coverage area the audience could be very large; perhaps as high as 50,000 listeners. A large number of respondents (25% of the sample) said they would listen to the program if they had known about it. This is a valuable finding in that it suggests the audience might be broadened significantly by further promotional efforts. Continued broadcasting of the program would no , 1Based on a Michigan Civil Rights Commission estimate, of Mexican-American residents projected to the grade B coverage cOntour of WKAR-AM. . 20 Table III.--Lansing area Spanish-speaking audience for "Variedades en Espafiol". Percentage Lansing of total area sample projection* Listen every week 55 5500 Listen every other week 12 1200 Listen once per month or less 12 1200 Would listen if had known about program 25 2500 Knew about program and did not listen, or did not know and would not listen 17 1700 * These figures are based on a population estimate of 15,000 Mexican-Americans in the greater Lansing area as reported by the Lansing City Demonstration Agency, Model Cities Pro- gram. doubt eventually attract many of the potential listeners. The program had only been on the air 20 weeks at the time of the survey; hardly enough time to develop a well—established listenership and for extensive word-of—mouth promotion within the Mexican-American community. It should be noted that the latter was the major source of original awareness of the pro- gram. Forty-four percent of the listeners first learned of the program from friends and relatives; twenty-eight percent from the bulletin of Lansing's Cristo Rey Community Center. The remainder discovered the program through other channels including posters and newspapers. 21 B. Program Format When asked what they liked about "Variedades en Espafiol", more than three—quarters of the listeners volunteered "music". The Texas-American music played On_the program which is relatively unavailable from other area radio stations, is apparently appreciated by listeners. Earlier studies of media habits of Michigan Spanish-speaking people reveal a desire for the presentation, through the mass media, of news of local and community events. And more than half (57%) of the "Variedades en Espafiol" listeners cited the regular com- munity news reports as an element they "liked" about the program. Thirty percent mentioned the program's frequent interviews with community leaders. Although more than ninety percent of Michigan's Spanish- speaking people consider themselves bilingual, a large number of listeners (40%) specifically mentioned that they appreci- ated the program because it is presented in the Spanish language. “Table IV.--Program elements volunteered as most liked by listeners. Percent of Listeners Program Elements Mentioning Music 76 News 57 .Spanish 40 Interviews 50 Announcers 26 Recipes 19 22 C. Broadcast Time and Day An attempt was made to determine how many respondents to the survey would listen to the program more regularly than once a week, and also to discover the best days and times for broadcast of the program. Ninety percent of the regular listeners and those who said they would listen to the program if they had known about it expressed an interest in a daily_program for Spanish- Americans on WKAR. The most popular (41%) broadcast time for Saturday was late morning, the regular time for the present program. Early afternoon seemed to be the best time (27%) for Sundays, although no time period drew a majority. Early morning (17%) and late afternoon (58%) were the most favored times for week day broadcast. It should be noted that only five percent felt that no time on Saturday would be convenient for listen- ing, and seven percent found Sunday unfavorable. Table V.--Preferred time schedule. Saturday Sunday Daily (base=181) (n=188) (n=172) Early morning 15% 16% 17% Late morning 41 19 10 Noon 9 14 8 Early afternoon 12 27 7 Late afternoon 17 18 58 25 5. Investigation of Community Problems A. Community Needs and Solutions An attempt was made to ascertain the most significant community needs to provide more appropriate guidelines for the preparation of both programs. All of the Spanish-Americans surveyed, including non-listeners, were asked "what . . . are the most important problems in the Lansing area that concern the Spanish—speaking community?" Clearly the most frequently mentioned problem (50%) was the need for a more appropriately structured public school system to provide adequate education for its students and preparation for advanced schooling, either technical or college. "Education" was cited more than two-to-one over any other need mentioned by the respondents. Three other needs received the attention of about one- quarter of those questioned. The increasing cost of living and the burden it places on the lower income groups (25%), the lack of adequate housing (25%), and the scarcity of appro- priate employment opportunities (21%) were all identified as major problems of the.community(see Table VI on the follow- ing page)- Other, less frequently mentioned, problems were: racial discrimination, community political and cultural unity, lack of representation in local and state government, narcotics, Mexican-American youth, and adequate child care for working mothers. 24 Table VI.--Community problems. Percentage 'Problems mentioning (n=149) Education 50 Cost of living 25 Inadequate housing 25 Poor employment opportunities 21 Racial discrimination 14 Lack of community unity 11 Poor governmental representation 5 Miscellaneous 19 The interviewers also asked if the respondent could quickly suggest some potential solutions to these community problems. One-third of those responding cited a more effec- tive community organizational structure to develop unity among Mexican-Americans. Twenty—five percent thought more interest by the local and state governmental representatives, ‘who are not Spanish-speaking, would help alleviate many of the problems. About one-fifth (21%) felt the problems of in- adequate education could be solved, in part, if the parents would encourage their children to continue their schooling as long as possible. Twelve percent cited the need for a recog- nized community leader and more job opportunities for bi- lingual people as solutions to the problems they had identi- fied. 25 B. Demographic Characteristics A large number (71%) of the respondents to the survey could be considered long-time residents of the community (more than five years); only nine percent reporting having lived in the area for less than one year.2 Almost half (47%) of those surveyed came to Lansing from .Texas. This finding is of particular significance in news programming. Twenty-eight percent were from other areas of the United States, while seventeen percent reported their prior residence as outside the country. 2This no doubt reflects the telephone bias--telephone homes within the Mexican—American community probably repre- senting established families. CHAPTER IV CONCLUSIONS 1. "La Revista" "La Revista" has established a substantial regular audience in spite of the fact that it is not on the air during prime time. On the other hand, it may owe a part of its audience to the unavailability of network favorites at the time it is offered. In any case, in reaching approxi— mately two-thirds of its potential audience weekly, it is achieving an extremely high exposure to an audience not likely to be frequently tuned to an "educational" channel associated with a university. There is a small but significant number who did not know about the program. Further publicity Could increase the audience to nearly the entire potential audience. For this purpose, there are several local newspapers that are read by the Mexican-American in addition to radio programs that currently exist in the area. It is evident that the Mexican American people like the lflexican and Texas music very much. As mentioned, 47 percent came from Texas before settling in Michigan. 26 27 The news as well as the reports are also appreciated and requested by the people. Nevertheless, there are some persons who have suggested that there be more local news and also news of importance from Mexico. In two of the appendices this can be readily seen. There are, on the other hand, many suggestions and new ideas that can be used in the program for improving it including experimentation with some new sec- tions. It is of the utmost importance that this type of study be continued. At least that it be done once each year to find out what the public thinks concerning the program. It has the added advantage of letting the people in the sample know that this is their program and that the station is interested in knowing what they think. By means of this study many things of interest have been ascertained. It not only revealed the fact that a large group of persons view the program but sup- plied such information as the following: what the public liked most, what they wanted to see on the program and what things they did not like. In addition, the study identified major needs of the community. These can serve as a guide to future programming. The community has been brought closer to the station as a result of the study. This has been an inter- esting dialogue between a sample of people and their program. It would certainly be advisable that the station main- tain contact with those who were identified as leaders of the community by the respondents. There should be a periodic 28 interchange for the purpose of obtaining their opinion about the program and providing them an opportunity to present their ideas and suggestions for program content. Perhaps this can be done by inviting them to the station frequently and permitting them to preview a program and discuss ways of modifying it for the better. 2. "Variedades en Espafiol" In many ways the radio program "Variedades en Espafiol" can be termed a success. Surely the fact that a program which has attained a fairly consistent listenership of fifty- seven percent after less than five months of once-a-week broadcasts is gratifying. However, this research reveals many areas for additional improvement in the program's structure and scheduling. Because such a large number of potential listeners did not know of the program, there is an obvious need for a more concentrated and effective promotional effort. It was ori- ginally thought that newspaper advertising of the program would not be effective, but our research reveals a relatively high degree of readership of the local press. Print adver- tising should be included in any future promotion plans. Since the Mexican-American population is highly concentrated on Lansing‘s North.side,Spanish—language billboards may also be feasible. To further increase listenership among the more than.100,000 Mexican—Americans outside the Lansing area and 29 within WKAR's coverage pattern, promotion throughout most of the state would be advisable. Since word-of-mouth promotion is extensive, this promotion could be modestly designed to reach only a few, depending on interpersonal channels to com- plete diffusion. While the audience appears to be drawn to the program primarily because of the Spanish music and language, there is a large interest in the program's information features. News of the local Mexican-American community and of "back home" in Texas receives a great deal of interest. These find- ings indicate that the ethnic musio:should dominate the program format as a greatly-desired service in itself, but also as a vehicle to attract attention to the informational segments which have slightly less appeal but are desired by substantial numbers and probably important to all listeners. The program's talk segments should reflect the community problems most frequently cited by the respondents. A closer relationship with the Spanish-American administrators and teachers of the public school system should be developed. And more emphasis should be placed on the problems of housing and employment. Perhaps a consumer oriented segment should be included in the weekly programs? And, it is obvious, a job and housing exchange would be useful. It is also clear that the program would maintain its pattern of listenership if it were expanded in hours or frequency of broadcast. Such an expansion would allow more 1.... to. . ”n.1, HEIDI-INN '5’an .. .9 13 VFW» 50 time for the development of informational features and news segments. The study was designed to provide the basis for an ongoing programming input and evaluation from leaders within the Mexican-American community. These leaders were identi— fied by the sample of respondents. The most frequently- mentioned persons could be consulted as an advisory group. They will be interviewed periodically concerning Mexican- American community problems, program format and program con- tent, as mentioned before. APPENDICES APPENDIX A English Translation of Questionnaire FORM 1 Phone number Interviewer initial _Sex M F Estimate of age Adult Teen My name is . I am calling from Michigan State University where we are doing a study of community needs and interests in the greater Lansing area. It will take just a few minutes. How long have you lived in Lansing? Where did you live before coming to Lansing? 1. What, in your opinion, are the most important problems in the Lansing area that concern the community? PROBE: Any others? 2. What do you think is most needed in the Lansing area to solve the problems? 5. If the community were to have an advisory committee to the local governments, what leaders do you know personally or know about, who you would want to have on that committee--that 51 52 is, people who would be good at talking about the problems and needs of the community that we have just been discussing? 4. Have you ever seen the television program "Revista Latina" on channel 10? Yes No IF NO Do you know about the program? Yes No IF YES Do you try to watch every week? Yes No What do you like about the program most? Spanish language Ask Revista Reporte- Calendario Music _____0ther Is there anything that you do not like about the program? Schedule Announcers 5. Now, I would like to ask you some questions about the radio Vandrteievisien programs. ”Have ydu ever listened t9 the SJ . .3 1. JFK. 14v 55 radio prdgram "Variedades en Espahol"? Yes No IF YES, GO ON TO FORM #3 IF NO, GO ON TO FORM it; FORM 2 1. How often do you listen? _____EVERY’WEEK _____ABOUT EVERY OTHER WEEK _____pNCE A MONTH _____LESS THAN ONCE A MONTH 2. What do you like most about the program? NEWS _____MUSIC _____SPANISH LANGUAGE _____ANNOUNCERS _____RECIPES _____INTERVIEWS Other 5. Is there anything you don't like about the program? Yes No IF YES, PROBE FOR SPECIFICS 4. Is there anything else you would like to hear on the pro- gram that is not now on? 5. At what time of the day on a Saturday is most convenient for you to listen to the program? EARLY MORNING LATE MORNING _ 54 55 NOON EARLY AFTERNOON LATE AFTERNOON NO TIME ON SATURDAY 6. At what time of the day on a Sunday is it most convenient for you to listen to the program? EARLY'MORNING LATE MORNING NOON _____EARLY AFTERNOON _____LATE AFTERNOON _____NO TIME ON SUNDAY If "Variedades an Espahol" were on every day at a con- venient time for you, do you think you would listen? Yes No IF YES, at what time of day, on weekdays would you most likely listen? EARLN'MORNING ' LATE MORNING NOON EARLY AFTERNOON LATE AFTERNOON How did you find out about "Variedades en Espafiol"? FRIENDS OR RELATIVES (WORD OF MOUTH) BUMPER POSTERS NEWSPAPERS CRISTO REY NEWSLETTER Other 56 9. Do you read a newspaper regularly? Yes No IF YES, which one? STATE JOURNAL Other FORM 5 1. The program is primarily for the Mexican-American people in the Lansing area. It is broadcast in Spanish with news, interviews and music of interest to the Mexican- American community--on Saturday mornings at 10:50. Would you be likely to listen to the program if you had known about it? YES NO KNEW ABOUT IT BUT DIDN'T LISTEN IF NO, OR KNEW, BUT DID NOT LISTEN Why not? IF YES OR IF REASON FOR NOT LISTENING IS TIME OF DAY IT'S BROADCAST 2. At what time of the day on a Saturday is most convenient for you to listen to the program? _____EARLY'MORNING LATE MORNING NOON EARLY AFTERNOON LATE AFTERNOON NO TIME ON SATURDAY 5..At what time of the day on a Sunday is it most convenient for you to listen to the program? EARLY MORNING LATE MORNING 57 58 NOON EARLY AFTERNOON _LATE AFTERNOON _____NO TIME ON SUNDAYM 4. If "Variedades en Espafiol" were on every day at a con- venient time for you, do you think you would listen? Yes No IF YES, at what time of day, on weekdays would you most likely listen? _EARLY MORNING _LATE MORNING _____NOON _____EARLY AFTERNOON _____LATE AFTERNOON 5. Do you read a newspaper regularly? Yes No IF YES, which one? STATE JOURNAL Other APPENDIX B Spanish Translation of Questionnaire FORMA 1 Numero de teléfono Inicial del Entrevistador Sexo: H( ) M( ) Edad Aproximada Adulto Joven Mi nombre es . Estoy haciendo esta llamada de Michigan State University donde estamos haciendo un estudio de las necesidades e intereses de la comunidad del gran area de Lansing. Nos tomara solamente unos pocos minutos. A. Cuanto tiempo ha estado Ud. en Lansing? 10 Menos de 1-5 afios Entre 1-5 anos Mas de cinco 0 1 2 afios B. DOnde estuvo anteriormente? 11 Mexico Texas California Otro: O 1 2 5 1. En su opinion, cuales cree Ud. que son los mas importantes problemas en el area de Lansing que le conciernen a Ud y a toda la comunidad? 12 PREGUNTE: Algun otro?: 2. Si la comunidad quisiera encontrar un remedio para estos problemas, qué cree Ud. que se necesitaria para resolverlos? 15 5. Si la comunidad fuera a tener un Comité de Consejeros :para el gobierno local, qué personas conoce Ud. personalmente <3 de quien ha Oido hablar, a quien Ud. quisiera tener en ese cmomite--esto es, personas lideres, que serian buenas para harder de problemas, necesidades e intereses de la comunidad como hemos estado discutiendo? 14 59 40 4. Ahora quisiera preguntarle algo acerca de los programas de radio y television. Ha visto Ud. el programa de television "Revista Latina" en el Canal 10? 15 Si No 0 y 1 SI RESPONDE NO: Sabe Ud. acerca del programa? 16 7 Si No 0 1 SI RESPONDE SI: Trata Ud. de verlo cada semana? 17 Si No 0 I 1 I a) Que 1e gusta mas acerca del programa? 18 Que es en espafiol 0 ,Pregunte a Revista 1 Reporte de la Revista 2 Calendario 5 / Musica 4 Historietas de nifios 5 b) Hay algo que a Ud. no le gusta acerca del programa? 19 Horario 0 Anunciadores 1 c) Ha escuchado Ud. alguna vez el programa de radio "variedades en Espafiol"? 20 $1 No RESPONDE Si, SIGA A LA FORMA DOS. I33 IE.’ RESPONDE NO, SIGA A LA FORMA TRES. FORMA 2 1. Con qué frecuencia lo escucha? 21 Cada semana 0 Cada dos semanas 1 Una vez al mes 2 Menos de una vez al mes 5 2. Que le gusta mas acerca del programa? 22 NOTICIAS 0 MUSICA 1 - ~ QUE ES EN ESPANOL 2 ANUNCIADORES 5 . RECIPES 4 ENTREVISTAS 5 (Alguna otra cosa) 5. Hay algo que a Ud. no le gusta en el programa? 25 81 No (PREGUNTELE QUE SEA ESPEcIFIco) 4. Hay algo que Ud. quisiera oir en el programa y que no hay actualmente? 24 I z I I . 5. A que hora del d1a en sabado es mas conveniente para que Ud. escuche el programa? Temprano en la mafiana Tarde en la mafiana 41 25 42 A medio dia 2 Temprano en la tarde 5 A las Ultimas horas de la tarde 4 A ninguna hora el sabado 6.§A qué hora del d1a en domingo es mas conveniente para que Ud. escuche el programa? 26 Temprano en la mafiana O Tarde en la mafiana 1 A medio dia 2 Temprano en la tarde 5 A las Ultimas horas de la tarde : A ninguna hora el domingo 7. Si "Variedades en Espafiol" se pasaran todos los dias a . / una hora conveniente para Ud., cree que escucharia el programa? I 27 S1 No 0 1 I I I SI RESPONDE QUE SI: A que hora del d1a entre semana lo escucharia mas probablemente? 28 Temprano en la mafiana Tarde en la manana 0 5 A medio dia 1 Temprano en la tarde A las Ultimas horas de la 4 tarde 8. Cdmo supo Ud. acerca de "Variedades en Espafiol"? 29 Amigos o parientes (Oralmente) Cartelones Periddicos Boletin de Cristo Rey AlgUn otro: 0 1 2 5 4 45 9. Lee Ud. el periddico regularmente? SI No 0 1 , ’ S RESPONDE QUE SI: Cual? — a State Journal 0 50 51 Algfin otro: FORMA 5 a. El programa es primariamente para la gente Mexicano- Americana en el area de Lansing. Se transmite en espanol, con noticias, entrevistas y musica de interés a la comunidad Mexicano-Americana. Esta en el aire todos los sabados por la mafiana a las 10:50.Habr1a escuchado Ud. el programa si hubiera sabido de él? 52 Si 0 1 SI RESPONDE QUE NO, O QUE SUPO Y NO LO ESOUCHO: Porqué no? 55 No Supe de él, pero no lo escuché SI RESPONDE QUE SI 0 SI LA RAzON PARA NO ESCUCHARLO ES LA HORA DEL DIA: 1. A qué hora del dfa en sabado es mas conveniente para que Ud. escuche el programa? 54 Temprano en la mafiana Tarde en la mafiana A medio dia Temprano en la tarde A las Ultimas horas de la tarde A ninguna hora el sabado CHIP-(NNI-‘O 2. A qué hora e1 domingo seria mas conveniente para que Ud. escuche el programa? 55 Temprano en la mafiana O Tarde en la mafiana 1 A medio dia 2 Temprano en la tarde 3 A las Ultimas horas de la tarde : A ninguna hora el domingo 44 45 5. Si "Variedades en Espafiol“ se pasaran todos los dias a una . / hora conveniente para Ud., cree que escucharia el programa? I 56 Si No SI RESPONDE QUE SI: A qué hora del dia entre semana lo escucharia mas probablemente? 57 Temprano en la mafiana Tarde en la mafiana 0 5 A medio dia 1 Temprano en la tarde A las Ultimas horas de la 2 4 tarde 4. Lee Ud. el periddico regularmente? 58 Si No 0 1 SI RESPONDE QUE SI: Cual? 59 STATE JOURNAL 0 Algfin otro: -41; . .,. -.. K4? I .s llmIL-IL APPENDIX C Interviewer Data INTERVIEWER DATA Rosa Ma. Barajas stenographer, secretary, translator high school graduate Luz Ma. Castillo stenographer, secretary, translator high school graduate Carmen Benavides secretary, school counselor college student Gilberto Ibarra teacher, Director, Migrant and Bilingual Programs, Lansing Public Schools Magdalena Figueroa teacher, Migrant and Bilingual Program, Lansing Public Schools PhD candidate, Michigan State University Lucas M. Barajas high school graduate Richard Santos student, Michigan State University Pedro Alvarez Mexican-American community leader Salvador Herrera student, Michigan State University Julie Lunninger supervisor, Cristo Rey Baby Clinic student, Michigan State University Rosendo Reyes student, Michigan State University Oscar Mendoza student, Michigan State University 46 APPENDIX D Instructions for Interviewers INSTRUCTIONS FOR INTERVIEWERS First of all take into consideration that if there are any persons who might want to know what is the reason of this study or if he (she) needs any other explanation regarding the interview, tell them that they can call me and I personally will answer any question they may have: Ramon L. Merlos, Phones: 572-6210 (home) or 555-7440 (WMSB) . The schedules of the programs are as follows, in case they want to know them: "La Revista": Thursday 7:00 p.m. Saturday 12:50 p. m. "Variedades en EspafiolP: Saturday 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. In the Spanish version there are different numbers in the right margin of the page, ignore them; those are numbers that we will use for tabulations. Also, there are small numbers underneath some lines, ignore them too. In number 5, page 2 of the English version, cross out or ignore the words "and television," and the following word should be singular (PROGRAM). On page 5 of the Spanish version there are several written accents missed in the first line after the explanation in the upper part of the page. "Errare humanum est." Each one of you, please try to read the contents of the questionnaire so that when the interviews take place you will know what it is about. This way the interview will be facilitated. Each one of you has 25 interviews. The time to make the interviews should be in the afternoon, after seven o'clock and no later than 10:50 p.m. I will call you every day to find out how the interviews are going and to find out also if you have encountered any problem. Perhaps some persons have changed their phone, please be ready with paper and pencil to get the new phone number from the operator. 47 48 9. Even though I have given you a list of males, try to get 10. 50%Iof both men and women. YOu can conduct the interview if a woman answers the phone (wife) or even if she (he) is a youngster. (Son or daughter of the family.) I will call some of the persons that you will have called to prove or ratify your results. APPENDIX E Most Liked Features MOST LIKED FEATURES One way of learning Spanish Likes everythingi Nothing More news from California Reports from Mexico History but more continuous as Manuel Martinez used to have. That the program is better than last year--and that she would like to see social news in "La Revista", where Mexican people participate in it. It is of interest for everybody. International reports. More interviews especially about Mexico and Cuba. 49 APPENDIX F Suggestions to Improve Program SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE PROGRAM Modern Mexican music. Need for more Spanish music. Cultural History. Boycott, less discrimination. Original Mexican music. -Modern Mexican Music. More information. Original music from Mexico Modern Cuban music. Original Mexican music. News from Mexico More news. More Mexican/American news. Nothing-~all right. Religion program. Perfect, just the way it is--Cuban. More Cuban rhythm music, but feels having a variety of music is more entertaining. More history of Mexico. More music. .More of the same during the week. .More commentaries to parents that state the parents responsi- 'bility to their children in school. More information about Lansing and high placed Mexicans in United States government. 50 51 More music from Texas. Commentaries on moral improvements. Cuban music. Mariachis-eMexican music. More news. There should be something related to jobs, employment offer- ings for people who are seeking, lobking for a job. More rancher polks. Better Spanish, more Latin American music. More time for broadcasting. Music typically Mexican. He likesTbetter now than before. Classical Mexican music, Mariachis and Vals. To dedicate songs to children who are in orphanages, who are sick or in prison. More Mexican music with Mariachis: Pedro Infante, Jorge Negrete, Javier Salis. Commentaries on Mexico and Latin America. Political news from Mexico. Mexican music, better dancers. More music and news from other countries. To announce dancer and drinks. APPENDIX G Definition of Needs .& -§.mw.t _ ‘59. r r ' ‘n .‘v "2" DEFINITION OF NEEDS EDUCATION: Need for schools and need for Mexican—Americans to get a better schooling, going to high schools and college. HOUSING: Need for better house and more of them. DISCRIMINATION: The Mexican-American is an American citizen, he should enjoy not only the obligations but-also the rights-of an American citizen. More equality in employment, educa- tion and everything. EMPLOYMENT: Not enough jobs to work, or to choose from. UNITY: It refers very especially to a unity of action among the Mexican-Americans liVing in LanSing. ‘It is hardly believed that there are over 15,000 Mexican-Americans in the greater Lansing area. REPRESENTATION: The Mexican-American is not represented in governmental positions as in many other areas. No key positions filled by Mexican—Americans. COST OF LIVING: No need of special definition. The common meaning given to this expression by Mexican-Americans and Anglo people. TRANSPORTATION: There are many social services, opportunities of school (night) that could profit'MexicaneAmericans but ‘ ' they lack the means to get to such places. MISCELLANEOUS: There were some problems or needs that were mentioned once or twice and here are included: 'babysitters, Black and Mexican-Americans at school, narcotics, grape boy- cott, Mexican-American youth, recreation centers, taxes, child discipline, self-centeredness, etc. 52 APPENDIX H Definition of Solutions DEFINITION OF SOLUTIONS More unity and organization among Mexican—Americans: They do not feel that the Mexican-American in Lansing is united to each other; they need to have goals and to accomplish them together. There is not one single organization that might get them all.together.. -More interest on the part of the government: They felt that since there are not many bilingual people working close to the government, they need to have them more interested in them since they feel they are a large minority. Somebody to talk to people: The Mexican-American feels a need for someone to really help them——to get them together. They are looking for a leader able to communicate and Speak for them. Parents to encourage their children to keep on going to school and more interest to learn: Sometimes children don't want to go to school or they drop out, sometimes their parents put their children to work to help them with money. More opportunity to Mexican-Americans: There are many positions that could be filled by bi- lingual people but a Mexican-American would not have an opportunity to take such positions. Better communication with bosses: They express their desire to have a better and more meaningful dialogue respecting differences in culture and origin. -More houses: Not enough number of houses at low cost. More jobs available: This is related with more Opportunities to Mexican- Americans in getting a job. Miscellaneous: Several solutions were mentioned but not very often. They said things like: more public tranSportation, not to buy grapes, centers for youth, north side center for youth, less peOple, let him (the Mexican-American) try, time and patience, etc.-- 55 APPENDIX I Most Mentioned Persons as Leaders MOST MENTIONED PERSONS AS LEADERS: Aldaco, Gene (2) Alfaro, Manuel (2) Alfaro, Rubén (21) Beltran, Juan (3). Benavides, Tony (26) Delgado, Manuel (12) Diaz, Lucas (5) Fuentes, Roy (7) Garcia, Ernie Jr. (2) Gonzales, Arturo .(2) Ibarra, Gilberto (12) Lozano, Jose (4) Macias, Jose (5) Marinez, Juan (2) Martinez, Gilberto (7) Merlos, RamOn (8) Patino, Ubaldo (9) Rodriguez, Anselmo (2) Saenz, Demetrio (11) Velazquez, Florentino (2) 54 IIIIM 4w llwfllpl‘drmia. . it ill. NICHIGQN STQTE UNIV. LIBRQRIES I . III I MM I Ii' “I III E! 31293100206634