NAB reports (Jan-Dec 1943)

gramming, producing and announcing for Fort Wayne’s FM station W49FW. She’s had five years’ radio experience as singer, narrator, and director of a chorus of 60 voices. Her dad is Jay Gould, the well-known character “Doctor Hickory’’ formerly heard on the Blue. From Totem Broadcasters, Inc. (and isn’t that a picturesque heading?), Ann Stirling reports her program “A Woman Wonders’’ is now going into its fifth consecutive year. Another half-hour, Monday through Friday, which she presents, is “Homemakers Calendar.’’ It’s marvelous how these girls do it I During her vacation she worked on her farm from dawn to dark. That’s helping Uncle Sam both on duty and off! And how many others of our girls are taking their responsibility to the nation’s food seriously this year . . . going home each evening and week ends to care for their gardens and put up the extra fruit and vegetables in cans? In line with this Dorothy Lewis spent Labor Day canning a bushel of beans from her farm! Public Service in broadcasting is radio’s answ'er to that phrase in the broadcaster’s code: “Public interest, convenience, and necessity.’’ NBC’s Public Service Department held its annual fall meeting in September to make plans for the network in the coming year. And as usual, women played a prominent part in the planning. Judith Waller, manager of the Central Divi¬ sion Public Service Department, Chicago, reported on the Second NBC Northwestern University Summer Radio Institute, and on the activities of the Central Division. Jane Tiffany Wagner, director of war activities for women, discussed w'omen’s war activities for the year to come. Margaret Cuthhert, director of programs for women and children, reported on women’s ac¬ tivities other than those directly connected with the war effort. Doris Corwith, assistant to the public service counsellor, and public service lecturer, was called upon for recommendations as an outgrowth of her travels and activities. Dr. James Row¬ land Angell, public service counsellor, presided. Emphasizing the importance of proper nutrition, (Uga Johannes conducts the “Victory Food Club” on WROK, Rockford. Sched¬ uled Monday through Friday mornings, the program is presented in cooperation with the local OCD nutrition committee. War¬ time food saving hints, stretching scarce foods, suggestions for balanced menus and general recipes are among the topics covered. Olga’s an excellent cook and listeners agree that she knows what she’s talking about. Miss Johannes and Lorna l.ane, WROK staff organist, are one and the same. Orchids for Programs Orchids to Mrs. R. H. Eddy. KHQ, for her I'adio personality “Mrs. Edna Perry” and the “Morning Mail”! In these days of increasing retail store advertising and promotion liy radio. Mrs. Eddy and the “Morning Mail” are blazing a new trail in personalized radio shopping service. Her sympathetic under¬ standing of women’s needs and problems in wartime shopping has made it an outstanding success. There’s anothei “Mrs. Perry” who’s on duty at the department store to handle the customers who come in to shop with her in person, and to handle the large volume of mail orders that come in afte)' each broadcast. Mrs. Eddy finds she has to serve not only as shopper advisor, but as a sort of Dorothy Dix-Emily Post com¬ bination to her listeners. The program carries a full schedule of war service items as well. It does its share of recruiting for women in the armed services. Red Cross activities, and plays an outstanding part in solving civic needs and problems. So for original and ingenious community service and entertai)unent ideas . . . here’s to you, Mrs. Eddy! (Send us your idea.) Does Your Survey Speak For Your Audience? By Elizabeth Reeves Knox-Reeves Agency, Minneapolis, Minn. ■pERHAPS the objective of sponsored radio can best he A defined as an effort to devise programs which combine the highest entertainmeTit standard possible with considei'ation lor the wddest audience acceptance. The radio audience is of course the most diverse audience possible to assemble. It is. in short, everyone. The question then becomes “What do most people want to listen to most?” There have been many efforts to find the answer to this question. Popularity trends are measured by Crossley and Hooper audience ratings and independent surveys are constantly being made in an effort to determine audience preferences. These methods are good as far as they go. There has been, however, one rather striking variation in that occa¬ sionally a program which has a high audience rating in the Crossley and Hooper percentages does not come in for volun¬ tary approval by independent small groups, while just as often the programs which wdn their approval are not programs which are generally the most popular according to other surveys. There are several possible reasons for this. It may be that the women who vote on these independent surveys are not familiar with the entire field, or it may be that they are not typical of the average radio listener, and therefore their choice would never follow the trend of the majority. This is a very important fact to determine since these women represent the most articulate listener, and since, in most cases, they purport to speak for the radio audience at large. If the sponsor is guided by them, will his program be led into paths of greater geneial popularity, oi’ will he sacrifice the approval of the vast inarticulate mass which has been his audience? As long as these articulate groups function independently, the sponsorwill be left in doubt as to the thoroughness of their methods and therefoi'e as to the value of their findings. Since the organization of radio council groups by Mrs. Dorothy Lewis during the past few years, it has become incr’easingly possible for radio councils and sponsors, or theiragencies, to get together in an effort to find the answer to the question of what radio audiences want. As well as to these other questions, do these women who compj-ise the radio coun¬ cils speak for the majority? Are their methods thorough enough to be a value? Are the agencies open to suggestions? Is it irossible by working together to raise both the popularity and the standard of sponsor-ed pi-og’rams? In an effort to make a begitrning at least in forming some sort of working plan for finding the an.swers to these ques¬ tions. a survey was conducted last May 28th through June 24th in Minneapolis by Knox Reeves Advertising, Inc., in coopera¬ tion with Minnesota Radio Council groups. The technique of the survey was worked out by the Research Depai-tment of Knox Reeves according to accepted conrmer-cial survey stand¬ ards. Mrs. George B. Palmer, coordinator of listener activities for the Minnesota Radio Council, orgairized the listening panels. The plan was as follows: The survey covered eight programs— four on CBS and four on NBC. One hundred twenty-five women were selected from radio council groups. Half of these women listened to NBC, the other half to CBS for a period of two weeks. At the end 4