WHAT LISTENERS WANT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22687, 27 March 1937, Page 1 (Supplement)

WHAT LISTENERS WANT

Broadcasting, Problem By KOTARE THE big problem behind any organisation of a national broadcasting service is to determine who listens to what. Not very lucid, you say ; but lucidity is just the quality lacking in every discussion of the question I have read, and I have examined a good many. The Americans, with their usual thoroughness ancL; closeness to reality, early established special bureaux of listener research. They; devised all sorts of narrow-meshed nets to trap their elusive prey. They sent out questionnaires which as usual collected a vast clotted mass of information, often self-contradic-tory, and rarely of any practical value. Many people knew how a broadcasting service should be run. They should be able to get over the air what they wanted when they wanted it.

If it had been certain that one and all were expressing, actual personal preferences the replies to the questionnaires might have been of the highest value. It might have been possible to strike a balance between well-defined groups of listeners and give programmes that catered in part for all tastes. But it was never possible to be sure that the information given was not the expression of a passing mood, or mere faddism, or eantankerousnes3 and a desire to be different. In some cases replies gave not what the listener really liked, but what he thought he ought to like, and the evidential value was nil. Gathering Facts The same objections could be lodged against opinions gathered by door-to-door canvass. A more trustworthy source of information was discovered in the telephone. A special area was examined at a time when most available stations were on the air and when it could be assumed that the number of listeners was at its peak. The telephone inquiries would be first "Are you listening in at the present moment?" then, "What station are you linked up with?" and, finally, "How long have you been tuned in to this station, and what others have you switched off after a trial?" At least this method gave facts rather than opinions, though the facts necessarily expressed very definite opinions. The collating of all the information after judicious sifting gave something definite to build upon. It was discovered that most sets were in use practically every day. Listening had obviously become a habit and most people took what came over the air uncritically and as a matter of course. Any programme was better than none. The public was so used to the sound of the radio functioning in the home that at certain periods of the day the domestic life went on its usual way with a background of music or the spoken word which was only dimly apprehended in [ detail. The broadcasting of matter of particular interest would lead to a momentary concentration on what was coming across. Most listeners seemed to be satisfied with an occasional highlight which held their interest, and accepted the rest of the programmes with! indifference. They neither approved nor disapproved, they simply accepted what the fates chose to send. Experiments in Schools If, however, a feature of a programme was discontinued, or camei under strong criticism from - some section of listeners, immediately the postal returns were swelled by a swift and indignant outpouring of protests. Already the conservative mind had entrenched itself in the new medium, and thousands who had no positive suggestions as to programme improvement rallied to support the familiar against the proposed innovation. Some valuable experiments were carried out in the scnools. It had been' declared that the habit of turning ont the radio in the homes during the evenings was having a detrimental effect on the home-work of the children. How; could they concentrate on theii; arithmetic or essay-writing if they, were distracted by the varied noised coming over the air? Groups of children were tested in' school, first in absolute silence, and then against a background of radio items. Taken as a whole the results proved that the presence of the radio neither hindered nor helped. The work was of the same standard in all groups* Actually some dull children did better work and achieved a greater concentration against the radio background, and some sensitive children were below their usual level. But there was on the whole wo difference in the quality of work. These conclusions might not be applicable to New Zealand, but the chances are that our problem is pretty much the same, and our listeners are cut very much to the American pattern. At least the American investigations suggest that there is no room for easy dogmatism. We shall find in time by the method of trial and error what particularly suits the general public. We shall certainly not find our level by accepting as final the judgment of theorists who approach the problem with a priori conclusions about the sort of piogrammes the public ought to get over the air. In Now Zealand There is room for unlimited experiment. Both the high-brow and the lowbrow should have their chance, but it should be recognised that to fix rigidly the lines of a medium still in the earliest stages of its development, or to become merely imitative, would be _a grave disservice to broadcasting in New Zealand. The Director of Broadcasting has soared into the ether with a grandiose scheme as large and vague, and remote as the nebula in Orion.; Well, we need our idealists, and it is} wise to build for the years to come* Whether his is the best way is certainly, open to doubt. Jn the meantime there is our daily, food in the ordinary programmes. As an average listener 1 am quite satisfied with the YA menu. There is enough to suit mv tastes as an ordinary middlebrow, and I willingly admit the rights of the high and the low. But there must be more adventurous experiment —we cannot become stereotyped at this stage of our development. Scotland hit on the brilliant idea of gathering into Edinburgh a Conference of Youth. Last month the boys and girls came to Broadcasting House from all over Scotland, selected representatives of the younger generation. They were asked to state what they wanted in their wireless programmes. They voted emphatically for broadcasts of important happenings, plays, variety programmes, dance bands, brass bands and light orchestral music. They ruled out serious orchestral music, crooners, and particularly women soloists. It m.ight be worth while taking a similar cross-section of youthful opinion here iK New Zealand.