AN AUDIENCE 3on OF THE . ' BLACK-ORIENTED RADIO PROGRAM TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS 0M . MICHIGAN STATE UNWERSITY’ 3 WW AM Thesis f0! the Degree 0f M. A. MiCHlGAN STATE UNIVERSITY RECHARD H. NEWBERG 197 1 flllWill!"lllHllllllIlllH 3 1293 101 ‘ . a: a my 7“; 7 a: ‘ HUAB 8: SBNS' 1 800K BENDERY "It. _. A...-\rne fr: {.2 as: M W ‘ «as»? '3‘” A UtARflllév— MI? 05—— I7] new”) ABSTRACT AN AUDIENCE STUDY OF THE BLACK—ORIENTED RADIO PROGRAM TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS ON MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY'S WKAR-AM BY Richard H. Newberg The United States has been shaken to an awareness of what Eldridge Cleaver calls "the pressing social problems .which are feeding the conflagration raging in America's soul; problems which can no longer be compromised or swept cleverly under that national rug of self-delusion. The possibility of concealment no longer exists, and the only ones deceived are the deceivers themselves." The established and highly influential institution of American broadcasting is beginning to feel the impact of dissatisfied minority groups and is finally searching for means by which it too can participate in this changing society. In Lansing, Michigan, it was Public Radio Station WKAR at Michigan State University which took the lead in reaching out to a previously neglected audience--the black Westside community of Lansing. "Soul" music of rhythm and blues, jazz and gospel is now available as a program service every weekday afternoon from 3:00—5:00 p.m. The host and his staff are black, and Richard H. NeWberg all programming during the two hour show is black-oriented. Most important is the show's basic purpose and operating philosophy. This function is to provide black Westside residents with information dealing with community services available in the area. "Community spot announcements" or commercial—type messages that deal with a particular service or social agency are programmed between musical selections. Voices for these announcements are almost always those of the individuals who actually are involved in the service. The reason for this is to bring the program to the people and the people to the program. Every attempt has been made to make Takin' Care of Business a grass roots project. The following audience study was conducted four and a half months after the program first went on the air. There 'was a definite need for research to determine whether the show was meeting its intended objectives. This study is basically a survey conducted by telephone within the target audience area. It was designed to determine listenership, programming preferences, and general attitudes toward the host and the program idea in general. A final objective was to determine the desirability of a citizens' advisory panel, which would be composed of Lansing residents Who would meet periodically with the program's host and discuss community problems and needs. It should be mentioned that the resi— dents surveyed in this study were in the lowest income strata in the Westside. Richard H. Newberg If the findings from this survey can be generalized to include the entire Westside black community of Lansing, 54 percent of those residents have at least heard the program. Thirty—four percent listen every day. The present broadcast hours are convenient for listening for 68 percent of those sampled. The idea of Sunday broadcasts was desirable for 90 percent of the total number of black Westside residents sampled. The best time for Sunday broadcasts would be in the early afternoon. F/Music is most appreciated by the audience, with ”\ "community announcements" rating second as the listeners” favorite part of the show. It is interesting to note that non-listeners suggested "music" and "community" as the two most important elements they would like to see in a black- oriented radio program. This, in a sense, is a confirmation of the program's actual content, by those who have never heard Takin' Care of Business. Other results show that the host is well received by his audience and that the majority of listeners are satisfied with the selection and types of music now played. However, a trend seemed to indicate stronger preference for gospel music by older respondents. Gospel accounts for only about 25 percent of the music now being programmed. Findings seem to indicate a strong sense of community among the black Westside residents surveyed. Of the total number of listeners sampled, 99 percent were in favor of Richard H. Newberg the creation of a citizens' advisory panel. Perhaps most important was the fact that 35 percent of the listeners were able to state or describe an agency or service they heard about on the proqram, that had been useful in some way to either themselves or someone they knew. AN AUDIENCE STUDY OF THE BLACK-ORIENTED RADIO PROGRAM TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS ON MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY'S WKAR—AM BY Richard HfANewberg 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 1971 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. r/ A: ‘;;7/ [(4 r \ Zégéfigg7 . 163145{:,_____lc Director of Thesis ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The evolution of Takin? Care of Business cannot be attributed to any one individual. I wish to first acknowl- edge the efforts of two fellow researchers and friends. Stephen Caine and Barry Karp. Together we shared the initial research experience in the classroom and later in the field. The author also recognizes the indispensable role of Research Coordinator Jennifer White during this preliminary study. Working with Larry Redd has been a privilege and an education. In addition to his many talents as a broad- caster, Larry has demonstrated to this writer the virtues of analytic thought, patience, and human kindness. His thorough understanding of his medium, the people he works with, and most important, his audience, shall always be considered a model example of the ultimate in a man's striving to meet his full potential as a human being. Special thanks to Dr. Thomas F. Baldwin, my thesis advisor and Professor for several courses at Michigan State University. It was Dr. Baldwin's sensitivity and under— standing of the media's role in American society, and his ability to transmit this knowledge and insight to his students, that, at very least, added credibility to any iii original notions of minority programming held by this writer. Dr. Baldwin's enthusiasm and highly constructive criticism throughout this entire study, inspired the writer and gave definition and direction to his work. The author would like to express his appreciation to Steve Meuche, Program Director of WKAR Radio at Michigan State University. Steve's dedication and perseverance in the area of ethnic minority programming shall never be for— gotten by this writer. Acknowledgment here includes Steve's receptivity of the program now being surveyed and studied, and his unselfish assistance in helping with the tabulation of the survey and securing facilities at WKAR for this study. WKAR secretaries Cindy Morgan and Phyllis Markiewicz also expended a great deal of time and energy, performing the many tedious technical tasks basic to any research study. Finally, this writer wishes to thank the team of inter- viewers who gave so generously of their precious study time to assist in the administration of the survey. iv CHAPTER LIS TABLE OF CONTENTS T OF TABLES. . . . . . . . . . . . . I. INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . II. THE PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . III. METHODOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IV. RES V. DIS REFERENCES The Study Design . . . . . . . . . . Sample Selection . . . . . . . Interviewer Selection and Administration Construction of the Questionnaires . Coding and Tabulation. . . . . . . . ULTS, ANALYSIS, AND DISCUSSION . . . Preliminary Data . . . . . . . . . . Listenership . . . . . . . . . . . . Desirability of Sunday Broadcasts. . Preferred Broadcast Time of Program. Source of Program Notification . . . Most—liked Aspects of the Program. . Importance of Various Program Parts. Additional Program Material. . . . . Negative Aspects of the Program. . . Musical Preferences. . . . . . . . . Evaluation of Host . . . . . . . . . Effectiveness of the Community Spot Announcements . . . . . . . . . . Citizens' Panel. . . . . . . . . . . Non—listeners' Views on a Black Soul Program for Lansing . . . . . . . CUSSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page vii 12 13 19 20 20 22 25 26 28 31 35 38 41 42 46 52 55 57 64 7O TABLE OF CONTENTS--continued Page APPENDICES..................... 71 I. Letter to the Interviewer and Procedural Instruction Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 II. Form One and Survey Questionnaires: Listeners and Non—Listeners . . . . . . . 75 III. A Program Service For the Mid—Michigan Black Community: Project Description . . 83 vi LIST OF TABLES TABLE Page 1. Length of Residency of Listeners and Non- listeners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 2. Age Breakdown of Listeners and Non—listeners . 21 3. Black Westside Audience for Takin' Care of Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 4. Frequency of Listenership Among Listeners. . . 24 5. Most Convenient Time for Sunday Broadcast. . . 25 6. Source of Program Notification . . . . . . . . 29 7. Most—liked Aspects of the Program. . . . . . . 31 8. Listeners' Assessment of Importance of Various Proqram Segments . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . 35 9. Listeners' Response Concerning Additional Program Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 10. Listeners' Response on Negative Aspects of Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 111” Musical Preferences of Listeners . . . . . . . 43 llua. Musical Preferences of Listeners: Ages 12-19. 44 1113. Musical Preferences of Listeners: Ages 20-29. 44 114:. Musical Preferences of Listeners: Ages 30-49. 45 1113. Musical Preferences of Listeners: Ages 50---. 45 -123. Listeners' Evaluation of the Host. . . . . . . 48 '133. Community Announcements Most Frequently Men- tioned by Listeners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 vii LIST OF TABLES—-continued TABLE 14. 15. 16. Page Community Services First Heard About Through Takin' Care of Business. . . . . . . . . . . 54 Non-listener Suggestions for Content of a Black Soul Program for Lansing . . . . . . . 58 Types of Music Names by Non-listeners for a Black Soul Program for Lansing . . . . . . . 6O viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Radio and television broadcasting, representing one of society's most pervasive and influential institutions, has been confronted with an awesome challenge. The ohal- lenge, which also applies to the whole of American society, is learning to understand and cope with dissatisfied minority groups within the p0pulation. If the society is to survive with a minimum of inner strife and bloodshed, this challenge must be successfully met within the frame- work of a "democratic" system. In the opinion of the writer, the matter of minority interests with respect to America's established institutions is growing in complexity due to an increasing suspicion and mutual distrust between men. Broadcasters cannot afford to shirk responsibility with regard to minority programming, news coverage, and hiring. The following segment is drawn from the report of the National Advisory Commission On Civil Disorders. It con— cerns the media and race relations: The media report and write from the standpoint of a white man's world. The ills of the ghetto, the dif- ficulties of life there, the Negro's burning sense of grievance, are seldom conveyed. Slights and indignities are part of the Negro's daily life, and many of them come from what he now calls "the white press"-—a press that repeatedly, if unconsciously. reflects the biases, the paternalism, the indiffer— ence of white America.... (9) At Michigan State University, pioneering efforts have begun with regard to ethnic minority programming for radio and television. This study shall focus on the black- oriented radio program Takin' Care of Business. Before the brief introductory discussion about the program, it is first necessary to mention how the idea first came about. During the latter part of the academic year, 1970, a research team of four television-radio graduate students conducted a survey within Lansing, Michigan's black Westwide community. Basically, this study sought to identify com- munity problems and needs. More important, however, the instrument was designed to determine whether the local broadcast media were devoting a significant amount of time to the unique problems of this segment of the greater Lansing community. The general trend of attitudes expressed by black respondents seemed to indicate that they were far from satisfied with local media performance in this area of programming. (3) After reviewing this particular survey, the Michigan State University AM radio station, WKAR, agreed to hire a black graduate student in television-radio as a full-time staff producer. His responsibility was to coordinate, initiate, and host a two-hour weekday program, geared to the needs and interests of Lansing's black community. Takin' Care of Business emerged with a program phil- osophy of providing vital information about services and agencies available to black pe0p1e in their own community. The idea was to work toward problem solutions and corrective action, rather than dwell on causes or problem description. It was assumed that this information is already known by Westside residents. These "cOmmunity action spots" are aired between musical selections of rhythm and blues, jazz, and gospel. In addi- tion, the host provides background material on black artists and groups. Another major segment of the program consists of feature guest interviews. The host speaks with individuals who discuss topics of interest to black people. Takin' Care of Business is broadcast from three to five o'clock in the afternoon, Monday through Friday. A final portion of the program, not previously mentioned, is the news. Two five-minute newscasts and two minutes of headlines are delivered at 3:00, 4:00, and 4:30, respectively. Although at the time of this writing, a black reporter has not been hired to cover the Westside as a newsbeat, the attempt is being made to use minority—oriented material for the two major newscasts. In addition, features relating to the Afro-American culture are often aired during these newscasts. Appearing in the Project Description guide of TakinflyCare of Busine§§_is the following: From the program's inception, a continuous effort will be made to re-examine the relevancy of the program structure and sample the views and preferences of the intended audience. (8) (See Appendix III) The following audience research study primarily attempts to fulfill two of the main objectives stated above; audience listenership and programming preferences of Lansing's black community. The survey was conducted four and a half months after the program was initiated. The first Takin' Care of Business show was broadcast September 8, 1970. The writer voluntarily places himself into the category of "white middle class,' referring to life style experiences, and general pre-university orientations. This may tend to reduce his credibility as a researcher in a predominantly black Model Cities community. It may indicate, perhaps, a social distance between the respondents and him. Therefore, the attempt was made to remain in close consultation with the host of Takin' Care of Business, Larry Redd. In addition, all interviewers for the telephone survey were black. CHAPTER II THE PROBLEM For a period of about four and a half months, WKAR'S black—oriented radio program, Takin' Care of Business had been programming to a target audience, based on several assumptions. First, it was assumed that the Westside black community of Lansing was receptive to the idea of having a radio program geared to their needs and interests. This assumption was based on the results of the research dis— cussed in the Introduction of this report. Next, the assumption was that "soul music," in its many forms, would be accepted by the target audience. However, what was uncertain was the desirability of present- ing a mixture of rhythm and blues, jazz, and gospel, during each daily two hour show. According to the program's producer and host, Larry Redd, this is not common practice for black programming. Usually, black-oriented programs consist of blocks of specific types of music, rather than various types "back-to-back." Third, it was believed that if a sizeable audience would be attracted to the program because of the musical alternative it offered in Lansing, community messages could be effectively placed between those musical selections. These "community spot announcements" would therefore be useful in helping black residents solve their own problems, as well as those of the community as a whole. Further, it was decided that the best approach to take with regard to the production of these community messages, was to use the actual voices of residents or those involved in a particular agency or service. This "grass roots" approach, it was hoped, would identify those individuals and agencies which serve the Westside community. In addition, this method would promote and reflect community involvement in the pro— gram itself. Other assumptions were that Larry Redd could effec- tively communicate with the black Westside community, and that his structuring of the program would maintain a high level of listener interest and enthusiasm. In order to test the validity of these assumptions and measure the effectiveness of the program with regard to its intended objectives, audience research was necessary. Inputs and suggestions from the community in the form of survey responses would determine the present effectiveness and future direction of the program. Other important vari— ables such as the time and length of the program and the desirability of Sunday programming also needed research. A final section of this survey is devoted to the crea- tion of a radio advisory panel. Briefly, this concept involves citizen participation in the program by making recommendations and suggestions concerning community problems, needs, and interests. Its purpose would be to provide an Open channel of two—way communication between Takin' Care of Business and the community it serves. Those individuals serving on the panel would ideally be a cross-section of the black Westside residents who are able to talk about their community. The problem was finding a method to construct this panel in an unbiased way. CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY The Study Design Respondents were classified as either listeners or non- listeners, based on whether or not they had ever listened to Takin' Care of Business. Two separate questionnaires, one for each group, provided valuable data for comparison and contrast of certain radio listening habits, demographics, and various attitudes expressed toward black-oriented pro— gramming. Both questionnaires contained a combination of Open and closed—ended questions. The original questionnaires were revised several times prior to pretest. The pretest was administered by telephone four days before the actual survey was conducted. The survey was administered during the evenings of two consecutive Sundays by telephone. A total of eight black graduate stu- dents interviewed respondents. The questionnaire for listeners was designed to test the effectiveness of Takin‘ Care of Business within the target audience area. This effectiveness primarily concerned the extent to which black Westside residents of Lansing were helped in some way by the social service announcements aired during the program. Another important aspect of this ques- tionnaire dealt with the desirability of composing a citizens' advisory panel that would make recommendations and suggestions concerning community problems and needs. Other questions on the listener's questionnaire provided both factual audience statistics and attitudinal responses to the program. Programming preferences of the audience was also an important aspect of the questionnaire. The questionnaire for non-listeners basically sought to establish the size of the potential audience for the program. In addition, non-listeners were asked what a soul program for Lansing blacks should be like. The attitudes and suggestions from this question were compared with the actual content of the program in order to measure the extent to which the show meets the expectations of some black residents of the Westside community. Sample Selection The target audience for Takin' Care of Business is Lansing's Westside black community. The agency having the most quantitative data relating to this community, to the knowledge of the writer, is the Model Cities Administration of Lansing. Prior to the selection of a sampling frame, the writer consulted with various administrators within this agency. 10 From a map highlighting five zones of Model Neighborhood areas designated by Lansing's City Demonstration Agency (Model Cities Project), one zone in particular was recom- mended for survey selection. According to the Assistant Director and Community OrganiZer of Model Cities, this zone contained a heavy saturation of black households. Residents in this area were in the lowest income strata in the Westside. It was felt that these residents would be most in need of information dealing with community services. The map pro— vided street names and addresses for all blocks in this abstracted segment of the community. The telephone method was chosen as the type of survey most desirable. It was considered the most practical with respect to time and money and the most reliable given the preceding limitations. During this discussion of survey methodology, the reader should be cognizant of the demo- graphic limitation of the telephone survey method. Low income households tend to have fewer private telephones than the proportionate number of middle and upper income house- holds. (5) The number of households with telephones in the se- lected sampling area was calculated at 1000. A sample of 200 was judged adequate, with an overdraw of 200 allowing for white households reached and non-response. Using the Lansing City Municipal Directory, which lists phone numbers according to alphabetical street names and addresses, a ll systematic sample was drawn by computing a skip interval of 2.5. Numbers were drawn by alternately counting down two and then three intervals in the selected columns of the directory. It should be noted that before drawing the sample through random selection, one final agency was consulted. Because of a project currently underway to clear several blocks on the Westside for construction of a new capitol complex, certain households were vacated or already demolished. The Assistant Director of PrOperty Management for the city of Lansing, provided the writer with a list of blocks or sections of blocks that would eventually be cleared of all residents. These street addresses were dropped from the sample frame. Business establishments and all other institutions, agencies, or organizations other than private households were also dropped from the initial frame of households with telephones. A household shall be defined for purposes of this survey as a group of individuals who occupy a house, apartment, group of rooms, or single room that constitutes a housing unit. Thus, if two separate telephone numbers were listed under two separate last names, but both were listed under the same street address, they were considered as two separate households. 12 Interviewer Selection and Administration A total of eight black students served as telephone interviewers. Six out of the eight are Master's candidates; one is a PhD candidate, and one is in the process of earn- ing a Bachelor's degree. Four of the eight interviewers had prior experience in telephone survey work. The telephone facilities and office space at WKAR Radio were made available for this survey. Phone calls were made on two consecutive Sundays, January 24 and January 31, 1971. Calls were made between the evening hours of 5:00 and 10:00 p.m. Four males and four females administered the survey. In order to secure a sexual balance in respondents, the male interviewers were advised to ask for the man of the house, while the female interviewers asked for the lady of the house. In cases where the correct sex could not be reached, the interviewer conducted the survey with the respondent who answered the phone. If the first person that answered the telephone was a child under the age of twelve, either the mother or father was asked to the telephone. A callback rate of three times per evening was utilized for respondents not reached on the first call. All interviewers allowed at least seven rings before hanging up. A letter to the interviewers and a procedural instruc- tion sheet can be found in Appendix I. Close supervision of all interviewer procedures was maintained during both survey 13 periods. At periodic intervals, all interviewers and the researcher met to discuss problems with respondents or the questionnaires. A total of 397 calls were made. The non-response rate was 30 percent, with refusals totaling 44 respondents, and telephones not in service or disconnected numbering 35. There were 19 "no answers, 12 incompleted interviews, 4 numbers no longer in use, 2 always busy, and 1 business establishment reached. The number of total completed interviews was 280. Of these, 188 or 67 percent were black residents of Lansing. Thirty-one percent of the respondents interviewed were white, and 1 percent were black non-residents. These questionnaires were not tabulated. Only the completed questionnaires of black Lansing residents were counted. The questionnaires of 52 black female and 49 black male listeners were tabulated. Of the non-listener question— naires tabulated, 52 were black females and 35 were black males. Construction of the Questionnaires As previously mentioned, two separate questionnaires were designed for listeners and non—listeners of Takin' Care of Business. However, all respondents were asked the ques- tions on Form One, which also included a record of each individual attempted interview and the written introduction 14 to the questionnaire. The reader will find Form One and the two questionnaires in Appendix II. Reference to a par— ticular question on either questionnaire will be indicated by the letter "L" for listener or "N-L" for non—listener, followed by the question number of that particular ques- tionnaire. The first two questions of both questionnaires dealt with listenership and time preferences for listening to the program on weekdays. Listeners were given a list of five categories concerning frequency of listenership (L 1.). Non—listeners were asked if they would listen to the program if they had known about it (N-L 1.). The purpose here was to determine the number of potential listeners to Takin' Care of Businsss. The second questions on both questionnaires were identical (L 2., N—L 2.). During the process of tabulation, it was realized that the question could have been better constructed. Respondents were given an open-ended question to determine "a better time" for listening if they said that the current weekday broadcast hours of the program were not convenient for them. In some instances, interviewers failed to signify "a.m." or "p.m.' following the preferred times given by respondents. Other responses were sometimes given in one vague word or phrase, such as "morning," or "after work." Had this type of response been anticipated, respondents would have been given a choice of particular time categories already listed on the questionnaire. 15 Research-was also conducted on both listener and non— listener concerning the acceptability of Sunday broadcasts of the program (L 14., N—L 3.). Again, the question for both groups was identical. The listed categorical alterna- tives for respondents made the tabulation process for this question precise and definite. Perhaps the most valuable information, besides listen- ership, ascertained from the non—listeners, was gathered in the response to question four (N-L 4.). Non-listeners were first asked if "a black soul program for Lansing is a good idea." If they responded positively, they were then asked what kind of program it should be. This Open-ended information allowed the researcher to compare the attitudes and programming preferences of those who have never heard Takin' Care of Business, to the actual content of the pro- gram. Response to this question helped to determine how close the producer was in programming to the needs and interests of some of those in his target audience. In addi— tion, program suggestions not previously considered could possibly be implemented as a result of the non-listener response to this question.‘ Questions dealing with evaluation of program content were asked of the listeners (L 4., L 5.). The first dealt with favorable aspects of the show. Respondents were asked what they like about the program. The question was open- ended and placed before the closed-ended question which 16 dealt with the importance of the various program "parts." Using this sequence, the researcher was able to determine the correlation between "importance,' and listening pleasure. The latter question gave listeners a "yes" or "no" choice in judging the importance of various program segments. Dealing again with program content, listeners were given two open-ended questions concerning possible negative aspects of current programming (L 6., L 7.). Question six asked if listeners would like to hear something not now on the program. Question seven asked if there was anything listeners don't like about the program. The surprising majority of responses to both questions concerned program length, rather than content. This was unanticipated but valuable nevertheless. Musical preferences of the listeners were evaluated by a question giving them a categorized choice to respond to (L 8.). Included in the choice was an "as is" category which simply meant an approval of the selection and vari- ation of the music now being played. Respondents were asked if there was a particular kind of music they would like played more. Audience preference had to be assessed since the host chose to play more rhythm and blues than jazz and gospel. 5 Another aspect of the program which needed evaluation was the performance of the host. Was he using the right on-the-air approach to his intended audience? What qualities 17 were his audience most impressed or dissatisfied with? Tabulating the responses to the open-ended question dealing with what the audience liked most about the host (L 10.) was most difficult. The three tabulators had a great deal of discussion as to the coding and categorizing of responses. Lines were finally drawn separating Larry Redd's personal characteristics from his general presentation of material on the air. A final category drawn from the response dealt with the host's ability to relate to blacks. The questions dealing with the community spot announce- ments were perhaps the most crucial aspect of the survey. It should always be kept in mind that the main purpose of the program is to ”provide information to encourage the use of various agencies, organizations, and materials which encourage citizen participation ... in the community. (8) (See Appendix III) In order to test the effectiveness of these informa— tional announcements programmed between musical selections, listeners were asked if any of the "information messages about the community" have been useful to them or anyone they know (L 12.). If they said "yes," they were asked what kind of information had been useful. This was one means of checking respondents Who simply wanted to please the inter- viewer. During tabulation, if respondents were able to adequately describe a particular service or agency promoted on the program, they were considered valid responses. 18 However, the following question (L 13.), which asked listeners if they could name any community service that they first heard about on Takin' Care of Business, was designed for specific responses. Only the name or highly accurate description of a particular service was acceptable. For these two questions, interviewers were encouraged to prompt the respondent with various phrases describing the nature of the term "informational message" if listeners were uncertain as to the meaning of this aspect of the program. Since these community announcements are placed between musical selections, they were termed "commercial—type announcements," or "community information that's presented like commercials between records." The final area of research concerned the creation of a "citizens' panel" or "advisory group," which would meet periodically with the host of the program to discuss com- munity needs and problems. Listeners were asked whether or not they liked this idea (L 15.). If they responded in the affirmative, they were asked to volunteer the name or names of people they thought would be good at making these types of recommendations and suggestions to the host about the community. They were specifically asked to name people such as "friends, people you know yourself or know about, relatives, or people you know from work" (L 16.). The purpose of qualifying the type of people respondents could name was to impanel a group of citizens primarily 19 outside the realm of established community leadership (such as mayor, police chief, newspaper editor, etc.). It is believed that a greater feeling for and understanding of the community's problems and needs can be obtained by talk— ing with residents Who live within the community and experience some of the inner city difficulties during their daily lives. All respondents who completed the questionnaire were asked their age. The interviewee's race, however, was to be determined by the interviewer, based on the manner in which questions were answered. If the interviewer was not certain of the respondent's race, he would then ask: "would you mind telling me yeur race?" Coding and Tabulation The researcher read through every question of every questionnaire designated for tabulation. Code categories were established for each open-ended question and a special tabulation sheet was designed. All questionnaires were hand coded and hand tabulated. The process of tabulating the responses was a joint effort between the researcher, WKAR Program Director Steve Meuche, and host of Takin' Care of Business, Larry Redd. During this process, all categories of responses were dis— cussed in depth and various changes were made in coding. CHAPTER IV RESULTS, ANALYSIS, AND DISCUSSION Preliminary Data From a sample of 397 Lansing Westside telephone numbers, 280 interviews were completed. Of these completed interviews, 67 percent of the respondents were black resi— dents of Lansing. Thirty-one percent of the interviewees were white, and 1 percent were black non-residents. These two latter categories of completed interviews were not tabulated. At this point, let it be established that any reference to "listeners" and "non-listeners,’ outside of table illus- trations, will only refer to black, Westside residents of Lansing. Listenership Of the 188 black residents reached, 54 percent said they have listened to Takin' Care of Business. A total of 49 per- cent listen at least once a week. Sex Breakdown Fifty—one percent of the listeners tabulated were female; 49 percent were male. Of the non-listeners, 57 percent were female; 43 percent were male. 20 Residency 21 Table 1 compares the number of years listeners and non- listeners have lived in Lansing. TABLE l.——Length of Residency of Listeners and Non-listeners LISTENERS (base = 101) ‘% 26 62 11 LENGTH OF RESIDENCY (In Years) 1-10 11-29 30—-- How long have you lived in Lansing? NON-LISTENERS (base = 87) ‘% 23 55 21 Age Breakdown Listeners and non—listeners are compared according to age in Table 2. not give their ages. Three non-listeners and two listeners did TABLE 2.-—Age Breakdown of Listeners and Non-listeners LISTENERS (base = 101 ‘% 37 17 36 9 AGE NON-LISTENERS (In Years), (base = 87) 96 12-19 5 20-29 9 30-49 38 50--- 45 22 FM Radio Ownership Seventy—seven percent of the total number of black Westside Lansing residents sampled said they own an FM radio. Favorite Radio Station Of the total number of black Westside residents sampled, 16 percent said their favorite radio station was WKAR. However, this percentage includes only 2 percent of the non- listeners, whereas 29 percent of the listeners said WKAR was their favorite station. Listenership Table 3 shows a complete audience breakdown including frequency of listenership and potential listenership. In addition, the various percentages have been projected to the entire black Westside population of Lansing.* Fifty-four percent of Lansing's Westside black residents have listened to Takin' Care of Business. About one out of every three (34%) residents listen every day. Forty-nine percent listen at least once a week. Assuming, as we have, that our sample can be generalized to the entire Westside black community of Lansing{”a projected daily teenage-adult audience would total 2,720. A cumulative weekly audience would number 4,000. * The source for population figures was the Lansing City Demonstration Agency, Model Cities Program. 23 TABLE 3.--Black Westside Audience for Takin' Care 9; Business PERCENTAGE PROJECTED AUDIENCE: OF TOTAL BLACK WESTSIDE SAMPLE POPULATION (base = 188) (base = 8000) Listen every day 34 2,720 Listen almost every day 4 320 Listen two or three times a week 8 640 Listen once a week 4 320 Listen less than once a week 4 320 Would listen if had known about program 44 3,520 Knew about program and did not listen, or did not know and would not listen 2 160 Ninety-five percent of the non—listeners said they would listen to the program if they had known about it. Only three out of the 188 black residents reached said they would not listen to Takin' Care of Business, even after learning of the program's existence. Based on the total sample, the poten- tial target audience is 98 percent of Lansing's Westside black residents. The program has a high percentage of daily listeners. Table 4 breaks down the frequency of listenership among listerners into percentages. Of the known listeners; a high percentage (64%) tune to the program every day. There was very little variance in the frequency of listenership between black males and 24 TABLE 4.—-Frequency of Listenership Among Listeners How often do you listen to Takin' Care of Business? PERCENTAGE OF LISTENERS SAMPLED HOW OFTEN (base = 101) %. Listen every day 64 Listen almost every day 8 Listen two or three times a~week 14 Listen once a week . 7 Listen less than once a week 8 black females. There was no question on the survey dealing with how much of each program listeners were tuned to. Discussion A 49 percent weekly listenership for Takin' Care of Business is a significant audience, considering the lack of advertising on the show's behalf. In addition, the relatively short period of time the program had been on the air at the time of the survey (four and a half months), should be taken into consideration when judging audience size. It is also worth mentioning that this survey concerns itself only with black residents of Lansing's Westside com— munity. White residents and those belonging to minority groups other than Afro-American were not counted. Further- more, blacks outside the weStside community were not included in this survey. Therefore, the total listenership 25 within the Westside community of Lansing, and within the entire coverage area of WKAR AM may be considerably higher. Desirability of Sunday Broadcasts Ninety percent of the total number of black Westside residents sampled (188) said they would listen to Eskis' gsge of Business if it were presented on Sundays. Only 9 percent of the listeners said they would not listen to the program on Sundays. Of the non—listeners, 8 percent said they would not listen on Sundays. As Table 5 illustrates, the most convenient time for Sunday listening is early afternoon. TABLE 5.--Most Convenient Time for Sunday Broadcast What time of the day on Sunday is most convenient for you to listen? PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL SAMPLE GIVEN TIME MENTIONING CATEGORIES base = 188) ' % Early afternoon 56 Late afternoon 27 Early morning 15 Noon 13 Late morning 11 Generally speaking, the response shows that the after- noon hours on a Sunday are better than the morning hours for 26 to a black Westside audience. This may be due, in part, to morning church services. In addition, Sunday morning is usually preferred as a time for late sleeping. However, it is interesting to note that the early morning hours are still preferred over the late morning or noon time periods. The preference for afternoon Sunday programming was almost identical between listeners and non-listeners. The only significant difference in response to the time cate- gories between listeners and non-listeners was "early morn— ing." This was a convenient time for 20 percent of the non—listeners who responded to the question, whereas only 12 percent of the listeners responding preferred "early morning." Discussion Sunday afternoon programming of Takin' Csre of Businsss might be seriously considered. Based on the results of this question on the survey, nine out of ten of the black resi- dents on the Westside of Lansing would be likely to listen to the program if it were broadcast on Sunday. Preferred Broadcast Time of Program Of the total number of black residents sampled, 68 per- cent said 3-5 o'clock in the afternoon is a convenient time for them to listen to Takin' Care of Business. Thirty-one percent said the present broadcast time is not convenient 27 for listening. One non—listener did not respond to the question. The current broadcast hours are convenient for 81 per— cent of the listeners. There was very little difference in male-female listener response to the question. However, there was a slight variation in the preferred broadcast hours between men and women. Seven black female listeners, of the nine who found the current broadcast hours incon- venient, said they preferred hearing the program after five o'clock in the afternoon. Only one black male listener out of the ten who were opposed to the current broadcast hours said he would prefer hearing the program after 5:00 p.m. The most-favored time for those males opposed to the current broadcast hours of the program is after seven o'clock in the evening. Of the non-listeners, only 53 percent said the current broadcast hours are convenient for them to listen to Eskisf Care of Business. Forty-six percent said the afternoon hours of 3-5 are not convenient for them to listen to the program. One non-listener did not answer the question. The hours most preferred by black, female, non—listeners were "early morning until noon," and late afternoon or early evening (after 5:00 or 7:00 p.m.). The same pattern of response was observed from the male, black, non—listeners. 28 Discussion The present program time of broadcast is convenient for better than two-thirds (68%) of those Lansing Westside black residents sampled. However, although this is a "convenient" time for them to listen, it is not necessarily the most convenient or best time for the show. It is important to note that 46 percent of the potential audience does not con— sider the hours from 3—5 in the afternoon convenient for them to listen. Based on total response for preferred broadcast hours, it is suggested that the program might be lengthened into the evening hours, perhaps continuing after the evening news block. Source 0;;Program Notification More than half of the listeners learned of the program's existence by word of mouth, as revealed in Table 6. More than half the program's listeners originally became aware of Takin' Care of Business from talking with other people. More than a third came across the program on the air by accidentally tuning to WKAR between three and five o'clock on a weekday. Together, these two categories account for 91 percent of the listeners' original awareness of the program. Only one newspaper advertisement was placed in the Essgside News, a journal published specifically for Westside residents. Only 4 percent of the listeners discovered the 29 TABLE 6.--Source of Program Notification — —_— How did you first hear about Takin' Care of Business? PERCENTAGE OF LISTENERS SOURCE OF ORIGINAL SAMPLED AWARENESS OF PROGRAM (bsse = 101) %. Word of mouth 55 Accidentally tuned to program 36 Newspaper ad 4 Organization newsletter 1 Church 0 WKAR promo 0 Other source 4 program through this source. The show was also promoted by taped announcements played occasionally during the course of WKAR'S daily programming. None of the listeners said they heard about the prOgram from these "promos." In addi- tion, the church was not instrumental in passing on informa- tion about the program's inception. No listener reported hearing about the show through church. One listener was notified about the program through some sort of organiza- tion newsletter. Discussion There seems to be a need for more publicity about Takin' Care of Business in the Westside community of Lansing. Although there is no apparent substitute for the effective- ness of "word of mouth" communication, more extensive use of 30 the Westside News would perhaps prove beneficial. It is important to keep in mind the fact that 95 percent of the non-listeners said they would listen to the program if they had known about it. Another effective means of promoting the program might be through a poster campaign. Businesses within the community might be willing to display eye-catching posters that would describe the nature of Takin' Care of Business. in addition to mentioning the time and length of daily broadcasts. Posters should also be circulated to all the community service organizations in the Westside. Recrea- tional areas should also be included in this poster campaign; such places as pool halls, bowling allies, and even local bars. Schools and churches should be notified and urged to carry information dealing with the program. The show and its host might make interesting feature material for school newspapers or church bulletins. Perhaps the most direct approach to bringing the pro- gram to public consciousness is by having the host address civic groups, community clubs, high school assemblies, and high school classes. Remote broadcasts from points of interest might serve a similar purpose. By engaging in this type of activity, Larry would have the opportunity to observe parts of his audience directly, while the audience meets the host in person. 31 Most—liked Aspectsiof the Program Listeners were asked what they like about the program. Table 7 lists the percentage breakdown of response to vari- ous program categories. The question was open-ended. The categories listed were created during the coding process, based solely on the response of the listeners. TABLE 7.--Most-liked Aspects of the Program What do you like about the program? PERCENTAGE OF VOLUNTEERED RESPONSE BY LISTENERS ASPECTS OF PROGRAM (base = 101) %. Music 80 Public announcements 20 Style of host 14 Relates to black people 7 Community events calendar 4 In order to help the reader better understand and define the categorized responses of the listeners in Table 7, the writer has provided some statements made by respondents which are representative of each category: Music: "It‘s all soul. The others don't play it." "Not bogue--better music-—soul." ... listening to the pop music; gospel music." 32 ... flashbacks and new records." ... variety of music.” Public Announcements: ... social service announcements." "Information about black community; fills communication gap in Lansing." ... community notices." ... informational messages." "Advertisements that are good for the community." Style Of Host: ... the rappin'. ... isn't phony." "When Larry talks, he sounds nice." "He explains things." ... tone of voice." Relatgs to Black People "It relates to my ethnic background." "I hear my own people on radio.". "It's a black program ... which we've never had." "My husband's a minister. He's talked to other ministers and they all enjoy the proqram." US Community Events Calendar ... community notices." "Offers more social events than any other program." ... calendar activities." 33 "Music" is what 80 percent of the listeners said they liked about Takin' Care of Epsiness. Although specific types of music were sometimes mentioned as favorites, a general trend approving the "mix" or variety of musical types and selections was noted. The second most—liked aspect of the program falls under the category of "Public Announcements." Technically, these are known as "community action spots,‘ serving as the basic element around which the program is structured. They are usually brief announcements recorded by citizens of the com- munity who are involved in a particular community service or agency. One—fifth of the listeners chose to mention some aspect of "Public Announcements" as the part of Takin' Care of Business they like best. Larry Redd's style as‘a host was mentioned by 14 percent of the listeners as a part of the show they like. The mean- ing of style in this case encompasses the host's manner of speaking, tone of voice, straight forward presentation, and pleasant personality. Because only 14 percent of the listeners commented on the style of the host, this does not mean that the other 86 percent do not like his style. The question results showed that all but one listener surveyed liked the host. The fourth category of responses is labeled "Related To Black People." Seven percent of the listeners said they liked Takin' Care of Business because they could identify 34 with the program as black people. It should be noted that "relating to black people" was indirectly intimated by respondents in three previous categories. This can be detected in the use of such phrases as "soul" music, "black community," or the "rappin" of the host. The fifth and final category of "Community Events Calendar" was named by 4 percent of the listeners as a part of the program they liked. This category is distinguished from "Public Announcements" in that this information deals with social events and activities rather than social agencies and organizations. Discussion Theorder of preferred aspects of Takgn' Case of Business validates the basic philosophy and structure of the program. Music was chosen as the best means for attaining a sizeable audience in Lansing's Westside black community. Although the host had to play a significant role in presenting the program, his role could not overshadow the basic reason for producing the show. That goal is to provide the Westside community with useful information that could be used by resi— dents in solving all kinds of problems unique to that commun- ity. Because the second most favored category was "Public Announcements," it can be said that the program is success— fully achieving what it set out to do. Takin' Csre o§:Business ran a "calendar" segment on Mondays, but discontinued the service because it was taking 35 up too much production time in its preparation. However, this calendar of events was a part of the program during the survey, and based on the response to this category, it might be recommended that the social events calendar be reinstated. gmportance of Various Program Parts Listeners were asked to assess the importance of each segment of the program. Table 8 illustrates the results of this question. TABLE 8.--Listeners' Assessment of Importance of Various Program Segments I am going to give you seme of the parts of Tskin' Care of Business. Would you tell me which ones are important to you? PERCENTAGE OF PERCENTAGE OF LISTENERS LISTENERS MENTIONING MENTIONING PROGRAM SEGMENT "IMPORTANT" "NOT IMPORTANT" % % Music 97 3 Commercial-type announce- ments about the community 90 11 News 75 24 Guest interviews by host 74 21 Talk by host, Larry Redd 67 29 Results indicate that the community announcements rank second in importance to the music on the program. The news 36 ranked third in importance to the listeners. This is pre- sumably news primarily from outside the black community. At the time of this survey, two five minute newscasts were aired at 3:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon. At 4:30 Michigan and national-international headlines were read. The content of these newscasts dealt primarily with current general news items reported by the Associated Press wire service. Receiving almost the same percentage of "important" responses as "news," was “guest interviews by host." These guest interviews most always include the host as interviewer. The subject of the interview usually deals in some way with black people. Ranked fifth in importance by the listeners was the "talk by the host." This was judged least important to the listeners, although 67 percent thought it was important. The host does a fair amount of talking throughout the show, and there was no definition of the word "talk" in question five. Therefore, it must be assumed by process of elimination, that respondents were referring to all of Larry's "talk" out— side of certain community spot announcements which he produces, and the guest interviews he conducts. Discussion All the program's parts were considered "important“ by at least two-thirds of the listeners. At least 90 percent of the listeners said the music and commercial-type announce- ments were important to them. These are the two most essential 37 elements of the program. The following passage appears in the original "Project Description" outline of Tskin' Care of Business: The program will provide information to encourage the use of various agencies, organizations, and materials which encourage citizen participation and a positive self-concept among the Black audience. In a sense, the program will be 'instructional' in nature, but the primary component of the broadcasts will be popu- lar music to attract a large audience. (8) "News" is one segment of the program which must be care— fully evaluated. In the opinion of the writer, not enough is currently being done in this crucial area of information dissemination. The two five minute news slots in addition to the two minutes of "headline news," should be filled with information that would normally be inaccessible to black people through the regular channels of broadcast news. Quoting again from the show's "Project Description": Program Objective: A daily (Monday through Friday) program of music, informational features and news reports directed to the Black Community of Lansing and mid-MiChj-gano o o o In reality, what has often filled the news segments of Takin' Care of Business are stories gathered, edited, and many times delivered by white staffers or white students. The major sources of information have been the Associated Press wire service and the Westinghouse audio news network. Although both these sources often carry items of interest to the black community, they could not possibly provide adequate daily coverage of Lansing's Westwide. 38 What should be established is a news beat within the target community. Local stories and local reaction to state, national, and international news should fill most of the five minute newscasts. Perhaps even more important, a black news editor should be hired who could help determine what stories should be covered locally, and what approach should be taken when editing wire copy. Additgonal Program Material Listeners were asked if they would like to hear any type of additional material not presently programmed on Takin' Care of Business. Table 9 illustrates the fact that most of the listeners are satisfied with the program "as is." The question was open—ended. TABLE 9.——Listeners' Response Concerning Additional Program Material Is there anything else you would like to hear on the pro- gram that is not now on? PERCENTAGE OF VOLUNTEERED PROGRAMMING SUGGESTIONS RESPONSE BY LISTENERS BY LISTENERS (base = ;01) '% m O‘C‘NNU‘IUl-Fb Like program as is Lengthen time of prOgram More about community More late recordings More gospel music Other Non—response ...; 39 The following section is devoted to representative categorical responses by listeners. The categories are those programming suggestions appearing in Table 9: Like Program As Is "Keep the job going just like it is." "Keep playing variety.... "Fine as is.... Lengthen Tsme offigrogram "Covers wide range of topics in short time; time should be lengthened." "Not long enough." ... made longer." More About Community "More about the community." ... current events." "More information on drugs." "Information about what is happening among black peOple in other cities and around the country." ... service, community, action.... More Late Recordings "More of the latest records...." "Top ten sounds should be played." More Gospel Music "More religious music." "More gospel...." 40 In addition to the fact that 64 percent of the listeners said they were satisfied with the program's content, nothing new in the way of additional material was recommended. Listeners just wanted to hear more of a particular aspect of the program. Five percent of the listeners were unhappy with the current two hour length of the daily program and recommended a lengthening in broadcast time. Although this does not directly relate to program content, it was stated as one of the major criticisms in response to this question. Five percent of the listeners also expressed a desire to hear more about the community. The "community" may be defined in this case as the geographical area of the west side, the events which take place within that area, programs of public service that are offered in the locale, and finally, the entire national community of black people. Two percent said they wanted more gospel music, and another 2 percent said they wanted to hear more of the "latest" records. In the "other" category of miscellaneous responses, "blues" was mentioned by one respondent. Discussion The content of Takin' Care oggBusiness is apparently satisfying the vast majority (64%) of the listeners. The percentage of those respondents mentioning specific types of music they would like to hear more of is not significant 41 enough in this particular question to indicate a need for changes in program content or format. Negative Aspects of the Program When asked if there was anything they didn't like about the program. 80 percent of the listeners said "no." In Table 10, this "no“ response is labeled "Like program as 13." TABLE lO.--Listeners' Response On Negative Aspects of Proqram Is there anything you don't like about the program? PERCENTAGE OF VOLUNTEERED RESPONSE BY LISTENERS LISTENERS' CRITICISM OF PROGRAM (base = 101) 36 Like program as is 80 Program too short 12 Other criticism 5 Once again, the vast majority (80%) of listeners said they like the program as it is. The only major criticism, again. was the brevity of the show. Twelve percent of the listeners want the program lengthened. "Other" responses here are worth documenting. One listener commented that some of the agencies publicized through the "community spot announcements," do not follow through on their promises to residents: "... when you call they can't do anything." Other criticism centered around 42 the "news every half hour," the "talk" by the host, and the lack of "ethnic jokes.” However, with the exception of the first and last comments, the other miscellaneous responses were insignificant statistically, and too vague to analyze in any great depth. Discussion The comment criticizing certain agencies for not follow- ing through on their publicized data should not be taken lightly. There should be a method of verification of infor— mation carried by Takin' Care of Business. For example, research should be conducted on any agency, group, or organi— zation that seeks air time. Periodic visits to these agencies by the entire staff of the program is recommended. In addi- tion, talks with the heads of these agencies and the people being served by them would be beneficial to the show's host and staff. All messages carried by the program should be carefully dated so that every attempt can be made to constantly update old material and seek out further current information. Musical Preferences Listeners were asked if they would like to hear a par— ticular kind of music played more on the program. It was found that older listeners preferred more gospel, while the younger wanted to hear more rhythm and blues. Despite these individual preferences, almost half (47%) the listeners 43 sampled said they were satisfied with the present musical "mix." This approval of current musical programming is labeled "As is" in Table 11. \ TABLE ll.--Musical Preferences of LiSteners u , , = Is there a particular kind of music you would like played more? PERCENTAGE OF LISTENERS GIVEN CATEGORIES MENTIONING CATEGORY GIVEN OF MUSIC (base = 101) '% As is 47 Gospel 22 Jazz 15 Rhythm and blues 11 Other type of music 6 It should be noted that the musical "mix" referred to earlier in this section is composed of about twice as many rhythm and blues selections as jazz pieces, and about twice as much jazz as gospel music. Therefore, the trend in over- all response is understandable. Listeners want to hear more of the kind of music played least. Tables 11a through lld break down the listeners' musical preferences according to age. Some respondents gave multiple answers, while others did not respond at all. 44 TABLE lla.--Musical Preferences of Listeners: Ages 12-19 GIVEN CATEGORIES PERCENTAGE MENTIONING ACTUAL NUMBER OF MUSIC (base = 37) MENTIONING % As is 35 13 Rhythm and blues 27 10 Gospel l4 5 Jazz 14 5 Other (”rock") 5 2 TABLE llb.--Musical Preferences of Listeners: Ages 20-29 GIVEN CATEGORIES PERCENTAGE MENTIONING ACTUAL NUMBER OF MUSIC (base = 17) MENTIONING %. As is 53 9 Gospel 24 4 Jazz 18 3 Rhythm and blues 6 1 Other ("blues") 6 l 45 TABLE llc.——Musical Preferences of Listeners: Ages 30-49 GIVEN CATEGORIES PERCENTAGE MENTIONING ACTUAL NUMBER 0F MU§£C (base = 36) MENTIONING 36 As is 56 20 Gospel 1? 6 Jazz 17 8 Other ("classical") 6 2 Rhythm and blues 3 l TABLE lld.——Musical Preferences of Listeners: Ages 50--- GIVEN CATEGORIES PERCENTAGE MENTIONING ACTUAL NUMBER OF MUSIC base = 9) MENTIONING %. Gospel 78 7 As is 22 2 Other ("classical") ll 1 Jazz 0 O Rhythm and blues 0 0 Overall, 22 percent of the listeners would like to hear more gospel music. The age group most comprising the 22 percent are twenty years and older. Those over fifty years seem to have the strongest preference for more gospel music. Jazz is second most preferred as the type of music listeners would like to hear more of. Those falling into '46 the age category of twenty to forty-nine listed "jazz" as the second type of music they would like to hear played more on Takin' gsrs of Business. Fifteen percent of the overall listenership said they would like to hear more jazz played on the show. Only 11 percent of the listeners felt that rhythm and blues music should be played more often on the program. The residents comprising this group fell almost totally within the age range of twelve to nineteen years. Discussion Findings seem to suggest that more programming of gospel music might better satisfy those in the audience who are twenty years old and older. However, the increase in gospel should not be too great due to the fact that almost half (47%) the listeners are satisfied with the musical "mix" as it presently exists. Evaluation of Host All but one of the listeners surveyed said they liked the host of the program, Larry Redd. One male respondent said he did not like the host but would not say why. One female respondent did not ansWer the question. If a listener said he liked the host, he was then asked what he liked about him. Based on the listeners' comments in the open-ended question, Larry Redd's personal 47 characteristics and technique of broadcasting are most appreciated by his audience. For purposes of tabulation, the line has been drawn between personality traits and style of the host, and the production and programming effort of the host. This production effort, or “general presentation," refers more to the host's relationship with the format and structure of the prOgram, as Opposed to his personal manner of expression within that format. To carry this one step further, it might be said that those responses falling into the "general presentation" category tended to relate to Takin' Care of Business through the host indirectly. For example, he "plays the right type of music,‘ is not really a comment on Redd's personal characteristics as a host, but rather his ability as a producer. A suggested subject for further research is to determine how important a role the host actually plays in this type of program. Based on the results of this question, it is suggested that Larry Redd is a vital element. Table 12 illustrates by category, the evaluation of the host by the listeners. The following are representative statements made by respondents about the host. It is hoped that by listing the actual or paraphrased words of the interviewees, the reader will be better able to understand the meaning of the "host quality" categories appearing in Table 12: 48 TABLE 12.--Listeners' Evaluation of the Host What is it that you like about him (the host)? PERCENTAGE OF VOLUNTEERED QUALITIES OF HOST ' RESPONSE BY LISTENERS MENTIONED (base = 101) %. Personal characteristics* 63 General presentation 28 Relates to blacks 24 * O This category was broken down into three sub—categories: "Quality of Voice," "Style," and "Personality." Personal Characteristics (base = 63) (Quality of Voice) 32% ... nice clear voice." "Tone of voice.... "His voice." ... sexy voice." (Style) 25% ... like his way of broadcasting; the way he speaks on the program." "Sounds like he's talking in the same room you are. His style is informal." ... lively, not dull." "You can understand him-~he's very verbal." ... way he phrases things." 49 (Personality) 6% "Sounds like a nice person." "... easy going." "Nothing in particular, just like him." "He's real, down to earth." "Nice man ... plays the soul all the time-—not a lot of silly jive jokes." General Presentation "The comments he makes are good." "... plays the right type of music." "... like dialogue at end." "He's better than average black stations." "... like the way he presents'himself." "Interviews he does with guests." Relatesito Blacks "I identify with him." "... can relate to blacks." "... plain language, not the pro d.j. language." "Comes on right with it; soul; he seems righteous." "Sincere effort to reach community comes through in his job." "You know he's a soul brother." A further statistical breakdown and definition of the above—mentiOned categories is warranted. The most fre— quently referred-to aspect of Larry Redd's personal charac- teristics is his voice. "Quality of voice” simply means the 50 sound of the host's voice; its tonal quality. Thirty-two percent of the listeners said they liked his voice. Twenty—five percent of the listeners commented on the host's style. This sub—category might be defined as the manner of expression which defines the character of the host; the way Redd presents himself. In other words, within the framework of program format, the host develOps a mode of expression which characterizes or projects his personality. The technical aspects of style may be broken down into pacing, timing, and phrasing of words. "Style" here may also refer to the manner in which Larry reduces the gap between host and audience. His style was labeled "informal" by one listener, who commented that he "sounds like he's talking in the same room as you are." Thus, Larry's style might be summed up, based on the general response of listeners, as lively yet informal, with a vocabulary that is easy to under- stand. "He talks the right way for that type of program." The final sub-category of "Personal characteristics" is "personality." This might be defined as the answer to the question: "What kind of guy is he?" The answer will be a description of the host's general nature and character, as projected by his style. The host was categorized as a nice, easy—going, down to earth, likeable kind of guy. Six per- cent of the respondents commented on some aspect of Larry's personality. "General presentation" is the second major category created out of the listeners' comments about the host.. 51 Remarks in this category encompassed such criterion as the selection and sequence of records, comments between music, and the host's participation in the various segments of the show—-interviews with guestsfflfor example. Twenty—eight per— cent of the listeners responded to the host's "general pre— sentation,” or the way he puts together the program. "Relates to blacks" is a category created by the re- sponse of those listeners who credited the host with an understanding of black peOple or the black community. "Relate" is always a difficult word to define. Perhaps the first general response best defines "relate": "I identify with him." Identification must work both ways to be effec- tive. Through his speech, choice of comments, and attitude toward his audience, Larry must convey sincerity in his attempt to program to the target audience. With such phrases as "lays it on the line," or "knows what he's doing,‘ some respondents seem to consciously understand the effort being made to reach them as black individuals and as individuals in a black community. Discussion Respondents seemed to vOlunteer more information in discussing what they liked about the host, than in any other open-ended question on the survey. This suggests that within a period of less than five months, Larry Redd, as an on-the— air personality, has made a considerable impact on his audience. Perhaps the most significant audience feedback 52 fell within the category of relating to blacks. From the comments of respondents, Redd is considered a credible source for information about black people and the black community. This is essential in fulfilling the major func- tion of the program. It has been the policy from the beginning, to reinforce all "community spot announcements" with comment from the host. If the host is accepted and trusted, his endorsement of a particular program, agency, or event will make the announcement that much more effective. Needless to say, this is a position of great responsibility. It is essential that any endorsement of any announcement come only after the source has been carefully researched. E fectiveness o; the Community Spot Announcements In order to measure the effect of the community spot announcements on the audience, listeners were asked if they could think of any informational messages about the community that have been useful to them or anyone they know. Thirty-five percent of the listeners were able to state or describe the agency or service that had been useful. Thirteen percent said some informational messages about the community had been useful, but were unable to talk about them. Fifty-two percent could not think of any messages. Table 13 lists the categories of announcements most frequently men— tioned by listeners. 53 TABLE l3.--Community Announcements Most Frequently Mentioned by Listeners Can you think of any of the informational messages about the community that have been useful to you or anyone else you know?" PERCENTAGE OF VOLUNTEERED COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS RESPONSE BY LISTENERS MENTIONsp (base = 101) Job information 8 LeJon building 5 Drugs 4 Legal aid 4 Urban league 2 Headstart program 2 Other specific messages 10 Assuming the sample is representative of the black Westside population of Lansing, about 1,520 residents have in some way found the community information on Takin' Care of Business_useful. This is based on the 35 percent of the program's listeners who were actually able to name or describe the service. The 13 percent who were unable to name a particular agency should not be discounted as nega- tive response. The word "useful" has not been operationally defined. Although ideally, the word would apply to practical use of a community service, it might also be considered on a psychological basis. A sense of "community" is perhaps instilled through constant reference to services and events related to a specific geographical area. It is quite pos— sible that a vast amount of infonmation about the community 54 ~ has been absorbed by respondents who did not actually take. advantage of a particular service. However, just the knowl- edge that these services exist might be termed "useful" information. The attempt was made to determine how many listeners first heard about a particular service through Takin' Care of Business. A total of 33 percent of the listeners said they first became aware of some community service by-listen- ing to the program. Fourteen different services were named by respondents, as illustrated in Table 14. TABLE l4.--Community Services First Heard About Through Taksn' Care of Business :— Can you name any community service that you first heard about on Takin' Care of Business? PERCENTAGE OF VOLUNTEERED COMMUNITY SERVICES RESPONSE BY LISTENERS MENTIONED (base = 101) ‘% LeJon Building Legal aid Drugs Westside Drop-in Center Urban League Job information Other specific services (8 named) ONUWU‘IGQ ..a The criterion fOr categorization was more rigid in this question. If the name or description of the service could not be specifically defined, the response was considered negative. 55 Discussion One recommendation for gauging the effectiveness of the community spot announcements is to create a direct line of feedback between the program and the service carried on the program. Heads of agencies might record where those seeking help heard about the service. These records or tabulation sheets could be periodically reviewed by Larry Redd and his staff, noting the quantity of resi— dents learning about the particular service through Iéhlfl' Care of Business. Citizens'fiPanel Of the total number of listeners sampled, 99 percent said they would be in favor of having a group of people from the community identify important community prOblems for the program. Two listeners gave no response to the ques- tion. None was actually opposed to the idea. However, when asked to give the names of one or more pe0ple they thought would be good at making recommendations and suggestions, only 50 percent of the listeners responded. A total of sixty-seven names were listed. The purpose of such a Citizens' panel would be to create a two-way line of communication with the community. Citizen participation would provide direct representation from the people Tskin' Csre p§,Bssiness is programming to. Rather than relying on the standard sources of community information 56 such as the police chief, mayor, clergy, or established businessman, the attempt was made to contact “average" citizens, who, in the minds of respondents, "would be good at making recommendations and suggestions," while identify- ing important community problems. The notion of such a panel or "advisory group" was suggested by Baldwin, Merlos, and Meuche, in their study of community prOblems and programming preferences of Lansing's Mexican-American community: 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 identified by the sample of respondents. The most frequently-mentioned persons will be consulted as an advisory group. They will be interviewed periodically concerning Mexican-American community problems, program format and program content. (2) It should be emphasized that these community "representa— tives" have been Chosen by respondents whose names were drawn at random. This reduces the bias that would result from the selection of "community'leaders" made by station management. Discussion Valuable inputs from the advisory panel would inevit- ably influence the content of community spot announcements. The panel would serve as a constant source for feedback on current community prOblems and even potential troublespots within the area. A complete list of the names given by respondents will be submitted to Larry Redd. The attempt will also be made 57 to furnish addresses and telephone numbers of these indi- viduals. It is suggested that each potential panelist be contacted and asked if he would be willing to participate in such a group. Regular communication could be established either through meetings or by mail correspondence. Non—listeners' Views on a Blsck Soul Programigpr Lansing Considering only non-listeners, 43 percent said they have never listened to soul prOgrams on radio. Of the listeners that were able to identify the call letters of the radio stations they listen to for soul programs, 76 percent named WKAR. This final section, however, deals only with responses from those who have never listened to Takin' Csse of Business. The reader should keep in mind that only Westside blacks were tabulated. Ninety—seven percent of the non—listeners said they think a black soul program for Lansing is a good idea. One nOn-listener responded negatively to the question. Two non— listeners did not respond. Although almost all the non— listeners thought a black soul program for Lansing was a good idea, 21 percent would not comment as to what kind of program it should be. As Table 15 indicates, most of the non- listeners felt that music and "community" should be the most important aspects of a black soul program for Lansing. 58 TABLE 15.--Non-1istener Suggestions for Content of a Black Soul Program for Lansing What kind of program should it be? PERCENTAGE OF VOLUNTEERED ACTUAL "KIND" OF PROGRAM RESPONSE BY NON-LISTENERS NUMBER §UGGESTED . (ba§§r= 87) - MENTIONING ‘% Music-oriented* 48 42 Community-oriented* 34 30 Culture-oriented* 17 15 Church-oriented 6 5 YOuth-oriented 3 3 Other suggestions for content 1 l * These categories were broken down into sub-categories, based on the different responses within one topic area. The following categorical responses deal with the sug- gestions made by non—listeners concerning content for a black soul program for Lansing (see Table 15): Community-Oriented (base 2 30) (Local News) 30% "... interviews of peOple in the community." "Community news." "... business news." "Black journalism." (General Community Information) 30% "Discussions on conditions in the community and church." "Line of communications...." 59 "Let the people know what is happening, let them know who is running for office so they will know how to vote." "Community action.... (Public Service) 23% "... program to work out problems of neighborhood." "Help build up the neighborhood." ... what services are available." ... housing and employment." "A program to help black people, especially needy people.“ (Calendar of Events) 17% ”Announcements of activities in the commufiity." "What's going on.... "Meetings.... Culture-Oriented (base = 15) "Anything pertaining to our race that would be uplifting." "Education.... "Black history....' Church—Oriented (base = 5) "Religious." "Church services." "Christian-type program rather than rock and roll type." YOuth-Orsented (base = 3) "Youth oriented-" 60 Almost'half (48%) of the non—listeners suggested "music" as a basic element for a black—oriented program for Lansing. The actual breakdown of musical preferences of non—listeners appears in Table 16. TABLE l6.——Types of Music Names by Non—listeners for a Black Soul Program for Lansing PERCENTAGE MENTIONING WITH ACTUAL TYPES OF "MUS IC-ORIENTED " CATEGORY NUMBER MUSIC (bas§v= 42) MENTIONING 96 "Soul" 33 14 General (just mentioning "music") 31 13 Gospel 20 9 Jazz 14 6 The highest percentage of response in the "music" cate- gory was for "soul." Thirty-one percent of the non-listeners said the black-oriented program should play soul music. Gospel music was mentioned by 20 percent of the non-listeners, while only 14 percent volunteered jazz as a musical category. Thirty-one percent did not specify what type of music they thought should be played. "Community-oriented" responses covered a broad spectrum of community affairs programming. The 34 percent response that fell into this category indicates a definite concern for media (radio) involvement in the black community. Non- listeners who mentioned a "community oriented" black program 61 were interested in local news, public service, and community events publicity. "Culture-oriented" was develOped as a separate category, including such areas as black history and educational material. This is perhaps the most ill-defined of the five categories listed. "Culture, of course, is a word which includes all the characteristic features of a peOple. However, for purposes of tabulation, the meaning of the word in this question is limited to broadcast material for radio, dealing with black history. Although the word "educational" was used by some respondents to describe the kind of black program they would like to hear on radio, no explanation or definition of the word was given by any respondent. It was therefore placed into the "general" category under "Culture— oriented." Perhaps this "general" category could best be explained as including responses which seem to advocate the conscious effort by black program producers to broadcast information that conberns itself with any aspect of the unique experience of the Afro-American. Only 6 percent of the non—listeners said a black soul program should be "Church—oriented“ or religious. Again, responses were not specific as to the exact nature of this type of programming. Perhaps the most defined response in this category was one which suggested the broadcasting of church services over radio. A mere 3 percent of the non-listeners actually mentioned a black soul program geared toward youth. However, some 62 respondents may have had this in mind when giving other categories for the program: soul music, for example. Discussion There is a close correlation between the responses by non-listeners to this open-ended question, and responses of listeners to question five on their questionnaire (see Appendix II). In both instances, "music" and "community," respectively, headed the list in program importance. In a sense, this verifies the preconceived notions of the initi- ators of Takin' Care of Business. It was originally planned, that through a musical approach to radio proqramming to the Westside community of Lansing, community information could be passed on to an attentive, appreciative audience. From the response of both listeners and non—listeners, the two basic elements of the prOgram seem to be in greatest demand by the audience and potential audience. Another interesting comparison in response between the non-listener and listener, is in musical preference. One— third of the non-listeners mentioning "music" as an essential element of a black soul program said soul music should be played. The next specific musical category mentioned was "gospel." In question eight of the listeners questionnaire (see Appendix II), 47 percent of the respondents said they like the music on Larry's show "as is." Redd plays mostly soul music during the program. Therefore, the musical "mix" now programmed on Takin' Care of Business would probably 63 satisfy the majority of the potential audience that wants to hear music, above all else, on a black soul radio program. The 20 percent response by non-listeners concerning gospel music as a basis for a black soul show should not be overlooked. Note that in Table 11, the second most—preferred musical category that listeners wanted to hear more of was gospel. Based on response by listeners and non—listeners, concerning the inclusion of a significant amount of gospel music in a black program (Takin' Care of Business in the former case), it is suggested that Larry might increase the amount of gospel music played on the program. In the final analysis, it would seem that music and community take priority over strictly religious programming. However, the religious influence in music and community affairs is a pervasive one, creating a high demand for gospel music and possibly an interest in Church events and activities as part of the "community calendar." CHAPTER V DISCUSSION In February and March, 1967, Bradley S. Greenberg and Brenda Dervin conducted a communications research study- in the areas of Lansing "having the highest concentrations of low-income residents." One of the purposes of the study was "to compare the media behaviors of low—income blacks with those of low-income whites." Findings revealed that low-income whites "used newspapers more and the blacks used phonographs more." The researchers gave the following explanation for this unanticipated discovery: Perhaps this reasoning is most tenable: given that white low-income respondents have at least their race in common with the major society, the newspaper may be a more useful source of information to them. The blacks do not have this similarity and, therefore, must locate more specialized sources for materials particularly relevant to them. Their increased use of phonographs may be a way for them to get more black music, soul and gospel music, for example, than they can find on television or radio. (6) With this notion in mind, it is not difficult to under- stand why, in the short period of four and a half months, one out of three of those black Westside residents surveyed for Taksn' Case of Business listen to the program every day. The author can only ask why, in the light of the research 64 65 cited above, local broadcasters did practically nothing to provide "particularly relevant" daily programming to this segment of the-community. However, it is not the purpose of this final chapter to harp on past neglect, but rather to focus on the significant findings of this study and what they mean. Several weeks prior to the first broadcast of Takin' Care of Business, producer-hoSt Larry Redd was asked whether he thought an extensive advertising campaign for the program was necessary. The offer was declined, and Redd commented that word within the target community would spread quickly if the program was worthy of listenership. He was proven correct when this study revealed that 55 percent of the listeners learned of the shoW's existence by word of mouth. Redd's foresight was perhaps influenced by the findings of the Greenberg-Dervin study which mentioned that poor blacks more frequently cited "peOple" as a source for local news than poor whites: If the majority media-—television, radio, newspapers-— do not report on news within the black ghetto, then other sources must be found for this information. The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (1968) agreed with this notion. Their data searches indicated that blacks distrust the "white" press and use sources other than established media. One Commission study faund that 79% of a total of 567 ghetto residents in seven cities first heard of riot outbreaks through interpersonal communication : sources. (6) The reader will note in Chapter IV, the author's criti- cism of the "news" segment of Taksn' Care of Business, 66 This particular part of the program was considered "not important“IAV24 percent of the listeners--a sizeable number. What is needed, in the opinion of the writer, is a complete shift in priorities during the two major five-minute news- casts. Emphasis in both the length and sequence of stories should be placed first on news within the local black community, then within the larger black communities of region, state, country and world. Only after reporting the news from this perspective, should the newscaster cover the "hard news" items of the day. This might be done in head- line form, given the relatively short length of each news- cast. Thomas F. Baldwin touches on two related areas in his "Broadcasting In The United States: New Directions In The Public Interest." One concerns the ascertainment of com- munity needs; the other, a new concept in reporting techs niques inside the ghetto: ... it seems a worthwhile effort to attempt to find systematic ways for broadcasters to determine the needs and problems of the communities they-serve. Experimentation in methods of such systematic determin— ation should eventually expand the horizons of public interest and public affairs broadcasting. Creative approaches to ascertainment of community needs should also make a significant input to the reporting tech- niques in broadcast journalism--perhaps by reducing the emphasis on event-oriented spot news in favor of the examination of a wider range of emerging commun— ity problems and needs. (1) The areas of news and the ascertainment of community needs are related because good investigative reporting relies on the establishment of contacts within the ghetto. 67 The question now becomes who are reliable contacts? Who can best represent “the people" and the community? The answer is simply the people. The problem is in reaching the people without biasing the selection of.representatives. This writer has chosen the method first employed by Baldwin, Merlos, and Meuche, in their study of community problems and programming preferences of Lansing's Mexican— American community. (2) For the Taksn' Care of Business survey, the listeners were asked to volunteer the names of "friends, people you know yourself or know about, relatives. or people you know from work.” The criterion for selection was that these individuals should "know what it is like there (Westside of Lansing) and can talk about it ... and make recommendations and suggestions" concerning community problems and needs. The significant point here is that the names of the listeners were chosen at random. Therefore, with the excep— tion of the telephone bias, there was a minimum of forced selection on the part of the researcher. A total of sixty- seven individual names were obtained from respondents. Some representatives were mentioned more than once. All names will be submitted to Larry Redd for further action. The method of panel formulation will be determined at a later date. Once formed, this panel of local residents could con— tribute to programming in many ways. Periodic meetings with 68 the host might be taped and edited for future broadcast on Tskin' Csre of Business. New problem areas might be dis- covered and dealt with through the community action spots. Newsmen might attend meetings to attain valuable community information and leads on up—coming events and meetings. Minutes of the meetings might even be printed and circu— lated to all the local media in Lansing. Most important, the station would have a ready channel of communication should any crisis situation arise in the inner city. In general, the listening audience responded favorably to every aspect of Takin' Care of Business represented on the survey questionnaire. The biggest criticism concerned the length of the program. Several respondents were frus— trated with only two hours of black programming per day. Ninety percent of the total number of black Westside residents surveyed favored Sunday programming. Perhaps the time has come for implementation of some of the various future program developments stated in page four of the pro- gram's Project Description (see Appendix III). Stability, in terms of a sizeable listenership, audience approval of current programming, and positive response to the host and time of the program, has been established. Extension of the program, with the approval of WKAR management, might include a weekend show produced by black students at the University or inner-city youths. The findings of this study reveal a strong sense of community awareness by black residents of the Westside of 69 Lansing. The listeners' endorsement of the community action spot announcements indicates, perhaps, a growing awareness of the community's need for its own radio service. The fact that these announcements have in some way helped 35 percent of the listeners or someone they knew, indicates definitely, the social impact the prOgram has made in the short period of four and a half months. The potential for radio within the black community is summarized by Raymond O. Oladipupo, a media buyer—planner at Ogilvy & Mather in New York: ... most black-oriented stations are totally oriented to their audience. Not content just to play rhythm- and-blues music, they also get involved in their individual communities. This approach undoubtedly creates empathy between the listeners and the stations. Besides entertaining, it makes the black man feel important because it's his station and ”these are my people talking...." How can black—oriented radio fulfill its purpose? It is lOgical to assume the black community has become increasingly aware of its need for a radio service it could call its own—-one that is specifically respon- sive to the community's needs and interests. As long as black radio recognizes and attempts to fulfill these needs, it will become essential to its community and is bound to grow with that community. It is important that black radio ceaselessly continues to seek new and better ways to serve the community so that it can make itself more and more indispensable to its listeners. (7) REFERENCES Baldwin, Thomas F. "Broadcasting In The United States: New Directions In The Concept of Public Interest." Prepared for: Radio Broadcast and TelecOmmunication Lsy, Radiotelevisione Italiana. (In press) Baldwin, Thomas F.; Merlos, Ramon L.; Meuche, Steven K. The Lapsing Mexican-American Community: A Study Of General Problems and Radio Programming Preferences, February, 1970. Caine, Stephen; Karp, Barry: Newberg, Richard; Redd, Lawrence. Aware Project Research. Unpublished independent study project, Department of Television- Radio, MiChigan State University, 1970. Cleaver, Eldridge. Soul On Ice. New York: McGraw-Hill Company, 1968. Corporation For Public Broadcasting. Guidelines For Conducting A Telephone Survey For Public Radio And Television Stations, December, 1970. Greenberg, Bradley S., and Dervin, Brenda. "Mass Com- munication Among the Urban Poor," Michigan State University, March, 1969. Oladipupo, Raymond. "Black-oriented Radio: The Problems and Possibilities." Broadcasting, June 22, 1970; Redd, Lawrence; Meuche, Steven K. "A Program Service For The Mid-Michigan Black Community." Project description for WKAR, WKAR-FM, East Lansing, August, 1970. Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civi; Disorders. New York: Bantam Books, Inc., 1968. 70 APPENDICES APPENDIX I LETTER TO THE INTERVIEWER AND PROCEDURAL INSTRUCTION SHEET 71 72 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS Audience Survey Dear Interviewer, Before getting into the nitty-gritty procedural data, I would like to thank you for COOperating in this research endeavor. Let me begin by telling you a bit about Lansing’s Black-oriented program, Takin' Care of Business. Last year, a survey of Lansing's Black community was conducted to determine community problems and needs. From the beginning, it was the contention of the researchers, that in Lansing, Michigan, there was a lack of programming (tele- vision and radio) geared to the Black community. Attitudes expressed by respondents confirmed this contention. After reviewing the Aware Project Research, WKAR agreed to hire grad student (TR) Larry Redd as a full time staff producer. His sole (soul) responsibility was to coordinate and initiate a two—hour weekday program geared to the needs and interests of Lansing's Black community. Takin' Care of Business emerged with a program philosophy of providing vital information about services and activities available to Black people in their own community. The idea was to work toward problem solutions and correctsye action, rather than dwell on causes or problem description. It is assumed that this is already known by westside residents. These "community action spots" are aired between musical selections of rhythm and blues, jazz, and gospel. In addition, 73 Larry provides background material on Black artists and groups. A final segment of the program consists of feature guest interviews. Appearing in the Project Description guide of Takin' Care of Busisess is the following: From the program's inception, a continuous effort will be made to re-examine the relevancy of the prOgram structure and sample the views and preferences of the intended audience. The questionnaire you are about to administer is the first such "re-examination" of the program's structure. The statistical data and attitudes of respondents to this survey will, to a large degree, determine the present status and future direction of Takin' Care of Businsss. You, as an interviewer, are most immediately responsible for the reli- ability of this survey's results. The accuracy of all information gathered depends largely upon how carefully you follow the given survey procedures. I have full confidence in your ability to meet the administrative requirements of this audience study. Thanks again, EMMM@ # 74 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS Audience Telephone Survey PROCEDURAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR INTERVIEWERS A Few Basic Rules.... 1. 9. Call only the numbers which yss are given. Allow at least seven rings before hanging up. If there is no answer or if the line is busy, call back at least three times during the course of the evening. Use pencil to record all responses. Record responses CLEARLY AND ACCURATELY. Mark closed—ended responses with a definite X, not a checkmark. Read only the words appearing on the printed question- naire. If questions are asked, say "let me repeat the question again." DO NOT PARAPHRASE. Speak clearly, but in a calm, relaxed, positive tone. On open-ended questions, record key words or phrases in a lengthy response. Do not attempt to write down every word in a respondent's sentence. Never offer your opinion to the respondent, even when asked by the respondent to do so. Do not hesitate between the introduction and the first question on the questionnaire. If the first person that answers the telephone is a child under the age of twelve, ask to speak to the mother or father or someone else in the house. If there is no adult at home or no one over twelve, record this informa- tion "No adult at home" in the Other column of the call record. If the person refuses to be interviewed, try persuading him or her to cooperate by stressing the fact that there is nothing to buy or sell and that all information is kept strictly confidential. However, do not argue with an uncooperative individual. If the person refuses to be interviewed, thank him politely, hang up, and mark the Refusal column of the call record. APPENDIX II FORM ONE AND SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES: LISTENERS NON-LISTENERS 75 76 TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS Audience Telephone Survey QUESII‘ IONNAI RE PHONE NUMBER INTERVIEWER INITIAL CALL RECORD ‘ hme of Interview Male Female‘Refused No Busy Other elephone Completed Answer (Specify) ttem t 2nd Cail: 3rd Casi: My name is . I'm calling from Michigan State Uni— versity where we are doing a study of radio listening habits. Are you a resident of Lansing? YES NO How long have you lived in Lansing? Do you own an FM radio? YES NO What is your favorite radio station? Have you ever listened to any soul programs on radio? YES NO (IF YES) Can you tell me what stations? Have you ever listened to Larry Redd's radio program Takin' Care of Business--the soul program from three to five on weekdays on WKAR? YES NO IF YES, GO ON TO GREEN FORM (LISTENERS) IF NO, GO ON TO PINK FORM (NON-LISTENERS) 77 LISTENERS How often do you listen to Takin' Care o; Business? (IF NECESSARY: PROBE WITH THESE CATEGORIES--every day. almost every day, 2 or 3 times a week, once a week, less than once a week) EVERY DAY ____sALMOST EVERY DAY _____2 OR 3 TIMES A WEEK _____ONCE A WEEK _____LESS THAN ONCE A WEEK Is 3 to 5 o'clock in the afternoon a convenient time for you to listen to the program on weekdays? YES NO (IF NO) What is a better time for you to listen during weekdays? How did you first hear about Takin' Care of Bpsiness? _____WORD OF MOUTH .____sACCIDENTALLY TUNED TO PROGRAM ON RADIO _____CHURCH .____4NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENT ORGANIZATION NEWSLETTER OR PUBLICATION _____WKAR STATION PROMO OTHER What do you like about the program? 5. 10. 78 I am going to give you some of the parts of Takin' Care of Business. Would you tell me which ones are important to you? TALK BY THE HOST, LARRY REDD: IMPORTANT OR NOT VERY IMPORTANT YES NO MUSIC YES NO COMMERCIAL-TYPE ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY YES NO GUEST INTERVIEWS BY HOST YES NO NEWS YES NO Is there anything else you would like to hear on the program that is not now on? Is there anything you don't like about the program? YES NO (IF YES, PROBE FOR SPECIFICS) Is there a particular kind of music you would like played more? AS IS JAZZ RHYTHM AND BLUES GOSPEL (RELIGIOUS) OTHER DO you like the host of the program, Larry Redd? YES NO (IF YES) What is it that you like about him? 79 11. (IF NO) Why? 12. Can you think of any of the informational messages about the community that have been useful to you or anyone else you know? (IF THEY HESITATE TO RESPOND TO "INFORMATIONAL MESSAGES," PROMPT WITH "commercial-type announcements," "community information that's presented like commercials between records") YES NO (IF YES) What kind of information has been useful? 13. Can you name any community service that you first heard about on Takin' Care of Business? (IF THEY HESITATE TO RESPOND TO "COMMUNITY SERVICE," PROMPT WITH "Community action programs" or "agencies or organizations that provide residents with a particular community service") 14. If the program was presented on Sundays, would you listen? ' YES NO (IF YES) What time of the day on Sunday is most con- venient for you to listen? (IF NECESSARY: PROBE WITH THESE CATEGORIES--early morning, late morning, noon, early afternoon, late afternoon) EARLY MORNING LATE MORNING NOON EARLY AFTERNOON LATE AFTERNOON 15. Would you be in favor of having a group of people from the community identify important community problems for the program? YES NO (IF NO, SKIP QUESTION #16) 16. 17. 80 Could you give us the names of one or more people whom you think would be good at making recommendations and suggestions. They can be such people as friends, people you know yourself or know about, relatives, or people you know from work. (IF NECESSARY, PROMPT WITH: "We want to find some people from your community who know what it is like to live there and can talk about it.“) NAME ADDRESS OR TELEPHONE NAME ADDRESS OR TELEPHONE Would you mind telling me your age? age Thank you for your COOperation. We appreciate you giving us a few minutes of your time. ' Goodby. (DETERMINE RACE OF INTERVIEWEE BY VOICE. IF YOU ARE NOT CERTAIN, ASK: "Would you mind telling me your race?") white black 81 NON-LISTENER The program is Black-oriented, with music, news, and information about the community. Do you think you would listen to the program if you had known about it? YES NO (IF NO) Why not? Is 3 to 5 o'clock in the aftérnoon a convenient time for you to listen to the program on weekdays? YES NO (IF NO) What is a better time for you to listen during weekdays? If the program was presented on Sundays, would you listen? YES NO (IF YES) What time of the day on Sunday is most convenient for you to listen? (IF NECESSARY: PROBE WITH THESE CATEGORIES—-early morning, late morning, noon, early afternoon, late afternoon) EARLY MORNING LATE MORNING ___NOON ____EARLY AFTERNOON LATE AFTERNOON 1' l. 82 Do you think a Black soul program for Lansing is a good idea? YES NO (IF YES) What kind of program should it be? (IF NO) Why not? Would you mind telling me your age? age Thank you for your cooperation. We appreciate you giving us a few minutes of your time. Goodby. (DETERMINE RACE OF INTERVIEWEE BY VOICE. IF YOU ARE NOT CERTAIN, ASK: "Would you mind telling me your race?") white black APPENDIX III A PROGRAM SERVICE FOR THE MID-MICHIGAN BLACK COMMUNITY: PROJECT DESCRIPTION 83 84 A PROGRAM SERVICE FOR THE MID-MICHIGAN BLACK COMMUNITY Lawrence Redd Producer-Director WKAR, WKAR-FM Michigan State University Steven Meuche Program Director WKAR, WKAR-FM Michigan State University August 1970 Program Objective: Program Format: 85 PROJECT pssCRgPTION A daily (Monday through Friday) program of music, informational features and news reports directed to the Black community of Lansing and mid—Michigan. The program will provide infor- mation to encourage the use of various agencies, organizations, and materials which encourage citizen participation and a positive self- concept among the Black audience. In a sense, the program will be "instructional" in nature, but the primary component of the broadcasts will be pOpular music to attract a large audience. The informational emphasis will be placed on means of improving living conditions and the urban environment in general. (It is assumed that the audience is already aware of the "conditions,' of their surroundings, therefore more time should be spent discussing solutions to problems rather than their magnitude.) A serious effort will be made not to reinforce the "establishment," but also, not to divide the peOple. Beginning Tuesday, September 8, 1970, the 3 to 5 p.m. period on WKAR(AM) will be devoted to this project. A large proportionof the 86 program will consist of current popular music, programmed by the producer. Selections will include blues, "soul,” and jazz. (The weekly giiiboard Magagsss music charts will be of value in selecting appropriate music.) During the two—hour period two 5 to 7 minute news reports and two 2 to 3 minute news headline summaries will be presented. The program pro- ducer will also serve as news editor for these reports. He will select two or more Michigan State University students to serve as news assistants. They will be trained, by the pro- ducer and WKAR News Editor, to prepare and announce the news segments. The information portions of the program will consist of brief (45 to 90 second) spot announce— ments supporting positive community action programs. These spots will be assembled and scheduled by the producer. Various agencies and organizations (Lansing Urban League, Model Cities, Community Action Centers, MSU Center for Urban Affairs, Black Liberation Front, etc.) will be contacted to participate in the program. In an effort to involve the community in this program, ideas and viewpoints will also be en— couraged from civic leaders, Opinion leaders, and citizens of the community. Barber shops, Audience Preferences: 87 pool halls, churches, restaurants, schools. etc., will be visited by the producer and his staff to elicit response on important issues from all members of the Black Community. An effort will also be made to prepare features or interviews with Black personalities visiting the Lansing area or Michigan State University. On special occasions, "live," remote broad- casts will be presented. The program producer, with 3 other graduate students at Michigan State University, conducted research, in the Spring of 1970, to determine the program needs of the Black Community in Lansing. The results of this research will pro- vide helpful information in the preparation of the programs. From the program's inception, a continuous effort will be made to re-examine the relevancy of the program structure and sample the views and pref— erences of the‘intended audience. The program producer will discuss the program regularly with residents of the Black Community in Lansing. Also, he will travel to other locations in mid- Michigan (within WKAR'S coverage area) to gather program materials and discuss community issues. After the program has been established, a major Promotion: Future Program Development: 88 research effort will be undertaken to determine listenership, program preferences, and commun- ity needs. A first year promotional campaign will include newspaper advertisements, posters and/or bumper stickers. News releases for papers in the WKAR coverage area will also be prepared. It is assumed that most persons will first hear of this program from friends or relatives. A con— centrated effort will be made to use this potent, yet inexpensive, promotional method. The success of this undertaking will provide numerous Opportunities for extensions of this programming effort. Among the potential future projects are: 1) A summer institute in broadcasting for dis- advantaged youth from the inner city. A compre— hensive training program could be developed in the Summer of 1971 to enable young peOple an opportunity to explore broadcast news and pro— duction in preparation for college work or immediate entry into the field of broadcasting. The project could be jointly sponsored by the Center for Urban Affairs, the Department of Television and Radio, WKAR, and WMSB-TV. 89 The program producer would serve as the project director. WKAR and WMSB—TV could provide studio space, technical equipment and broadcast time for "on the air" experience. At the com— pletion of the summer program, a concentrated effort would be made to place the trainees in permanent broadcast position or in university degree programs in television and radio. 2) A weekend program, with a similar format, could be prepared by students at MSU and broad- cast on WKAR. The program producer would serve as advisor and teacher. This project could begin as early as December, 1970. 3) A survey of Michigan radio stations, conducted by WKAR in June, 1970, indicates a desire for weekly programming produced by and for Black peOple throughout the state. A program of this nature could be developed at WKAR and distributed state-wide via its tape network. 4) An effort can be made, in the Spring of 1971, to secure a Corporation for Public Broadcasting Fellowship Grant for WKAR. This grant permits WKAR to nominate persons who are professionals in a non-broadcast field for a year of training and study at a non-commercial broadcast station. 90 5) In the Spring of 1971, a halfétime graduate assistantship will be assigned to this project to permit expansion of news and feature material for the program. "I7'M1’L'7A'1'7AMMAMT