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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2002 Louisiana mass media perceptions of the LSU AgCenter's communications effort Robert James Soileau Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Human Resources Management Commons Recommended Citation Soileau, Robert James, "Louisiana mass media perceptions of the LSU AgCenter's communications effort" (2002). LSU Master's Theses. 553. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/553 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LOUISIANA MASS MEDIA PERCEPTIONS OF THE LSU AGCENTER'S COMMUNICATIONS EFFORT A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in The School of Human Resource Education and Workforce Development by Robert James Soileau B.A., Louisiana State University, 1984 May 2002 DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this research paper to my son Grayson Farley Soileau. The time I have spent on this thesis is time I have spent away from him. While watching me work tirelessly on this research project, I hope he understands t hat it is never too lat e to better yourself. It is important to set and at tain new goals in life, and education plays an enormous role in attaining those goals. It is never too late to learn. Knowledge is truly powerful. Thank you Grayson for being a wonderful son and one of my most important treasures in life. I love you very much. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research paper would not have been possible without support. First, I would like to thank my wife Richelle and my son Grayson for their patience. While working on this research paper, I spent many nights and weekends away from my family. My appreciation extends t o LSU AgCenter Communicat ions, particularly former director Dr. Mike Futrell and current director Frankie Gould for their moral and financial support. Also, the support I received from my colleague Craig Gautreaux was extremely helpful. Several current and former administrators of the LSU AgCenter have also supported this research: Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service Director Dr. Jack Bagent (retired), Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station Director Dr. Larry Rogers (retired), Directors Dr. Paul Coreil of LCES and Dr. William H. Brown of LAES. Finally, I appreciate the support I received from the Chancellor of the LSU AgCenter, Dr. William B. Richardson. My committee members, Dr. Michael Burnett and Dr. Satish Verma, have given me great guidance. I would like to extend a special thanks to the chair of my committee, Dr. Joe Kotrlik, for his guidance and support. Finally, I want to thank my parents, Dr. Robert R. Soileau and Dr. Lola F. Soileau. Their guidance and support throughout the years have inspired me. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION .....................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ................................................vii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................ xi ABSTRACT ......................................................xii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .................................. 1 Statement of the Problem ....................................... 4 Purpose .................................................... 5 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ........................ 7 Development of Land Grant Institutions ............................ 7 Development of the LSU AgCenter ............................... 8 Funding for State Level Agricultural Experiment Stations and Cooperative Extension Services .........................11 Changes in the Land Grant System ................................13 Public Awareness o f Agricultural Extension and Research Programs ......15 Mass Media .................................................18 Media Impact on Knowledge, Opinion and Public Policy ...............21 Media Campaigns .............................................24 Land Grant Communications Efforts ..............................26 Summary ...................................................31 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ..............................33 Population ..................................................33 Instrumentation ..............................................33 Data Collection ..............................................35 Data Analysis ................................................35 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS .......................................38 Newspaper ..................................................38 Usage of LSU AgCenter Newspaper Services ..................40 Awareness of LSU AgCenter Topics Among Newspapers ........44 Importance of LSU AgCenter Topics to Newspapers ............46 Suggested Strategies . 48 Radio ......................................................48 Usage of LSU AgCenter Radio Services ......................51 iv Preferred Length and Audio Format of LSU AgCenter Radio Services ...................................55 Awareness of LSU AgCenter Topics Among Radio Respondents ...55 Importance of LSU AgCenter Topics Among Radio Respondents ..56 Suggested Strategies . 61 Television 61 Usage of LSU AgCenter Television Services ..................62 Awareness of LSU AgCenter Topics Among Television Stations ...64 Importance of LSU AgCenter Topics Among Television Stations ...65 Suggested Strategies . 66 Comparison of Awareness and Importance Levels of All Media ..........67 CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY ......................................71 Summary of Results ...........................................72 Conclusions .................................................75 Recommendations ............................................76 REFERENCES ...................................................79 APPENDIX A: FIRST MAILING COVER LETTER FOR ALL NEWSPAPER ..........................................83 APPENDIX B: FIRST MAILING COVER LETTER FOR ALL RADIO STATIONS .....................................84 APPENDIX C: FIRST MAILING COVER LETTER FOR ALL TELEVISION STATIONS ................................85 APPENDIX D: FOLLOWUP POST CARD SENT TO ALL NEWSPAPERS, RADIO STATIONS AND TELEVISION STATIONS ..............86 APPENDIX E: SECOND MAILING COVER LETTER FOR NEWSPAPERS .........................................87 APPENDIX F: SECOND MAILING COVER LETTER FOR RADIO STATIONS .....................................88 APPENDIX G: SECOND MAILING COVER LETTER FOR TELEVISION STATIONS ................................89 APPENDIX H: NEWSPAPER QUESTIONNAIRE ......................90 APPENDIX I: RADIO QUESTIONNAIRE ............................92 v APPENDIX J: TELEVISION QUESTIONNAIRE .......................94 VITA ...........................................................96 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Academic Research Departments ...............................10 Table 2 Awareness of Cooperative Extension or Its Programs by the General Public ........................................16 Table 3 Use of Cooperative Extension Service Programs by the General Public ...16 Table 4 Percentage of “Ag News” Releases Used in Part or Whole by Idaho Media .......................................27 Table 5 Likelihood of Television News Outlet, Decision-makers Airing Particular Story Topics by Market Size ...................................29 Table 6 Likelihood of Television News Outlet, Decision-makers Airing Particular Story Topics by Primary Program Content Type ....................30 Table 7 Comparison of the Grand Mean of the Importance of LSU AgCenter Topics by Response Mode for Newspaper ..............................39 Table 8 Comparison of the Grand Mean of the Awareness Score of LSU AgCenter Topics by Response Mode for Newspaper .........................39 Table 9 Number and Percentage of Users and Non Users of LSU AgCenter “News You Can Use” Service ...................................40 Table 10 Use of LSU AgCenter “News You Can Use” Service by Those Newspapers Editors Who Indicated They Use the Service ..............41 Table 11 Other Remarks by “News You Can Use” Newspaper Users ...........41 Table 12 Number and Percentage of Users and Non Users of LSU AgCenter “Time Sensitive” News Service ................................42 Table 13 Use of “Time Sensitive” News Service by Those Newspaper Editors Who Indicated They Use the Service ................................42 Table 14 Other Remarks by “Time Sensitive” Newspaper Users ...............43 Table 15 Number and Percentage of Users and Non Users of LSU AgCenter “Get It Growing” Service .....................................43 vii Table 16 Use of LSU AgCenter “Get It Growing” News Service by Those Newspaper Editors Who Indicated They Use the Service ...............44 Table 17 Number and Percentage of Users and Non Users of Photographs from the LSU AgCenter Web Site .....................................44 Table 18 Awareness of LSU AgCenter Topics Among All Newspaper Respondents . 45 Table 19 Level of Importance of LSU AgCenter Topics Among All Newspaper Respondents ..............................................47 Table 20 Remarks of All Respondents on How LSU AgCenter Communications can Better Serve Newspapers

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