This dissertation has been 64—6881 microfilmed exactly as received BURROWS, Robert Barker, 1905- THE USE OF RADIO, TELEVISION, AND OTHER COMMUNICATION MEDIA BY CHILDREN IN MONONGALIA AND PRESTON COUNTIES, WEST VIRGINIA. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1963 Speech—Theater University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan THE USI OF RADIO, TELEVISION AND OTHER COMMUNICATION MEDIA BY CHILDREN IN MONONOALIA AND PRESTON COUNTIES, WEST VIRGINIA DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Qraduate School of the Ohio State University By Robert Barker Burrows, B. A., M. A. The Ohio State University 1963 Approved by Adviser Department of Speech To Barbara, Elizabeth, and Margaret ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to the many interested persons who have made the completion of this dissertation possible. Special appreciation is due my adviser* Professor Harrison B. Summers of the Department of Speech in the Ohio State University* whose patience* personal kind­ ness * professional knowledge* and encouragement were of inestimable value over a long period of time devoted to study, research, and writingo My thanks also go to Professor Donald W n Riley for the hours, effort* and skill which he gave to reading and evaluating the dis­ sertation. In addition, Professor Franklin H. Knower* on the read­ ing committee* offered equally valuable criticism. Appreciation is due also to other Ohio State University faculty members who served on the examining committees* among them Professors Earl W. Andersen and I. Keith Tyler of the College of Education; and Professors Roy Ho Bowen* Richard M. Mall, and John H. McDowell of the Department of Speech. The co-operation of the Monongalia and Preston County Superin­ tendents of Schools sind the principals and teachers in the various schools in which the surveys were made* as well as that of the children who completed the questionnaires, was willingly given and is here gratefully recognized. iv Without the extraordinary help of the West Virginia University Data Processing Center — its Supervisor Ernest L. Jones and his Assistants, Edwin C. Townsend, Richard D. Ackerson, and others — the handling of the extensive data derived from the surveys would have been next to impossible. In addition, the people of the West Virginia University Office of Publications were unusually cooperative and helpful in repro­ ducing the questionnaire forms and the final copies of the dissertation. The generous and highly skillful assistance of the personnel in the Data Processing Center and the Office of Publications is much appreciated. My gratitude is due various members of the Administration of West Virginia University for making available to me the facilities of the Data Processing Center and for allowing a limited amount of research to be done on "University" time. Not the least of my appreciation should go to Mrs. Melba B. Griffin and Mrs. C. G. Pearcy, of the Ohio State University Graduate School, for their sound advice and friendly help in steering this candidate along the path toward meeting the technical requirements of a doctorate. Also, to Mr. and Mrs. John W. Howard, who advised in matters of grammatical form and expression, to Mrs. Georgeann Dunko for secretarial help, and to all others, not specifically mentioned, who have helped in ways too numerous to describe, I offer ray sincere thanks! V TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS................................................ iii LIST OF T A B L E S ................................................ vii Chapter I. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY .................................... 1 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ...... ...... 6 III. METHOD OF INVESTIGATION . 57 IV. TIME DEVOTED TO RADIO AND TELEVISION............ ?3 V. TIME DEVOTED TO READING NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES ..... 83 VI. TIME DEVOTED TO READING BOOKS AND DOING HOMEWORK.. 91 VII. TIME DEVOTED TO READING COMIC BOOKS AND ATTENDING MOVIES . 10*+ VIII. CHILDREN'S TELEVIEWING IN RELATION TO OTHER ACTIVITIES . 116 IX. CHILDREN'S PREFERENCES FOR PROGRAMS OF CERTAIN TYPES . 125 X. CHILDREN'S PREFERENCES FOR SPECIFIC PROGRAMS ............ l*+3 XI. PROGRAM SELECTION AND PARENTAL RESTRICTIONS ............ 165 XII. SUMMARY AND C O N C L U S I O N S ................................ 17*+ APPENDIXES A. Form of Questionnaire .................................. 201 B. Table 2*+ - Number of Usable Questionnaires Returned From Each Grade and School ...................... 20*+ Table 25 - Totals of Usable Questionnaires From Monongalia and Preston Counties Combined .. 205 C. Table 26 - Average Number of Television Sets in the Home in 1958 and 1961, as Reported by Children in Various Grade-Placement Groups . 207 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued APPENDIXES - Continued Page Table 27 - Percentage of Children on Each Level of Academic Achievement Who Reported One or More Television Sets in the H o m e ........ 208 D. Table 28 - Number and Percentage of All Children in Each Grade-Placement Group on Each Level of Mental Ability and Academic Achievement . ° 210 E. Table 29 - Percentages of All Children in Various Grade-Placement, Sex, and Mental Ability Groups Who Favored Television Programs of Certain T y p e s ........................ 212 Table 30 - Percentages of All Children in Various Grade-Placement, Sex, and School Achieve­ ment Groups Who Favored Television Pro­ grams of Certain Types ................. 21^+ BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................... 217 AUTOBIOGRAPHY 222 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Average Daily Minutes of Radio Listening by Boys and Girls in Various Grade-Placementf Mental Ability and Achievement Groups .................................. 74 2. Average Daily Minutes of Television Viewing by Boys and Girls in Various Grade-Placement, Mental Ability, and Achievement Groups ................................. 78 3. Average Daily Minutes of Reading Newspapers by Boys and Girls in Various Grade-Placement, Mental Ability, and Achievement Groups ....... .................... 84 4. Average Daily Minutes of Reading Magazines by Boys and Girls in Various Grade-Placement, Mental Ability, and Achievement Groups ............................ 88 5. Average Daily Minutes of Reading Books, by Boys and Girls in Various Grade-Placement, Mental Ability, and Achievement Groups ................................. 92 6. Average Number of Books Read in the Past Six Months by Boys and Girls in Various Grade-Placement, Mental Ability, and Achievement Groups ......................... 94 7. Average Daily Minutes Spent on Homework by Boys and Girls in Various Grade-Placement, Mental Ability, and Achievement Groups ................................. 100 8. Average Daily Minutes of Comic-Book Reading by Boys and Girls in Various Grade-Placement, Mental Ability, and Achievement Groups ................................. 103 9. Average Daily Minutes of Attending Movies by Boys and Girls in Various Grade-Placement, Mental Ability, and Achievement Groups ........... 110 10. Average Number of Movies Seen in Past Four Weeks by Boys and Girls in Various Grade-Placement, Mental Ability, and Achievement Groups ...... 112 11. Average Number of Minutes Spent on Various Activities on a Midweek Day by All Children, Grouped According to Sex and Grade-Placement ........................... 117 viii LIST OF TABLES - Continued Table Page 12. Average Number of Minutes on a Midweek Day Devoted to Badio Listening, Beading, and Other Activities by Heavy TV Viewers Compared to Light Viewers ....... 120 13* Books Bead in the Past Six Months and Movies Seen in the Past Four Weeks by Heavy Television Viewers Compared to Light Viewers ....................... 122 1*+. Percentages of All Children in Each Grade-Placement Group Who Checked Television Programs of Certain Types as F a v o r i t e s ...................................... 130 13* Program Types Most Frequently Checked as Favorites by Boys and Girls in Various Grade-Groups .............. 133 16. Percentages of All Boys and Girls in Various Mental Ability Groups Who Checked Television Programs of Certain Types as Favorites .......... ........... 136 17. Percentages of All Boys and Girls in Various Achievement Groups Who Checked Television Programs of Certain Types as Favorites ...................................... 133 18. Percentages of All Boys and Girls in Total Sample Who Indicated That Certain Television Programs Were Among Their Favorites .................................. lM+ 19- Percentages of All Children in Each Grade-Placement Group Who Indicated Specific Television Programs as Their Favorites ....... ........................ 1^7 20. The Twelve Individual Programs Most Frequently Checked as Favorites by All Boys and Girls and Those in Various Grade-Groups .................................... 132 21. Percentages of All Boys and Girls in Each Mental Ability and Achievement Group Who Checked Late- Hour Movies as a Favorite Program T y p e ................. 136 22. Percentages of Children in Each Grade-Placement Group Who Indicated That They Disliked Television Programs of Certain Types ............. 157 23. Percentages of Boys and Girls in Each Grade-Placement Group Whose Answer to Question: Who Tunes In? Indicated That They Were the Program Selectors for Certain Pro­ gram Types ....... .......... ........... 166 ix LIST OF TABLES - Continued Table Page 2k. Number of Uaable Questionnaires Returned From Each Grade and School ..... .......... 20k 25- Totals of Usable Questionnaires From Monongalia and Preston Counties Combined ................