In Canada a combination of factors both stimulate and impede audience research. The complex Canadian broadcasting system and the competition among research suppliers create a situation in which innovative research solutions are frequently proposed but not often realized. These factors have led us to adopt a prosaic research model which treats ratings as a "currency." This prevents both broadcasters and advertisers from fully exploiting audience research to help communicate effectively with the audience. My perspective is one which is relatively unbiased, given that CBC radio services don't accept advertising. CBC has subscribed to BBM (Bureau of Broadcast Measurement) syndicated radio surveys for over forty years and these surveys have always been and continue to be a valuable tracking tool. However, like others in the Canadian industry, CBC is interested more than ever before in other forms of research which supplement the traditional ratings. I believe that conventional television and radio in Canada, along with the new electronic media evolving from the convergence of broadcasting and telecommunications will require more multi-dimensional audience research. The current ratings methodologies, and many of those in development, strive to be as unobtrusive or "passive" as possible, based on the philosophy that measurement techniques which require little or no effort by a respondent will provide more accurate data. The quest for passive (or, more accurate) measurement is only half the story, however, and runs counter to some emerging trends in our industry. Passive measurement, which only tells the broadcaster or advertiser whether someone is physically near a radio or TV, will not be sufficient in a future where listeners and viewers on a daily basis will be exposed to potentially thousands of different programs and commercial messages via electronic media that will be omnipresent in the home, office and in public places. I would like to review some recent Canadian research that demonstrates that, like the media themselves, traditional audience ratings research is converging with other forms of data collection, promising research that will provide for an improved, interactive relationship with the audience.
The paper reviews the state of audience measures of quality in Canada in relation to developments in other countries. The general problems associated with qualitative measures of quality are considered in light of a specific example of family drama programming, "Road to Avonlea", broadcast on the English-language television network of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Developments in the area of measures of quality from other countries are briefly examined with special attention to viewer assessments of quality being experimented within the United Kingdom. After tracing some of the historical contexts for the development of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's audience panel and explaining its current function, specific measures of quality undertaken through the audience panel are examined. Tests were conducted to examine the extent to which audiences equate quality with enjoyment. This involved a split sample of the CBC audience panel which tested ratings generated by an "Enjoyment Index" versus a "Qualitative Index", the latter using viewers' definition of quality. Results indicate that although QI's are very similar to EFs there are important differences, especially with regard to news, sports and current affairs programming.
This paper is aimed to throw some light on the ways media research data are, indeed, affecting the media planning processes. Although the media availability in West Germany is entirely different from the availability of media in Canada, the planning processes follow the same patterns on both sides of the Atlantic.
Canadas communications experience is of interest to other heterogeneous societies, especially where there are vertical cleavages such as language and region. The influence of language in the communications flow is highly visible, it means that in Canada two distinct media systems have developed: one French and the other English. It has been asserted that French language newspapers in Canada have a different orientation that English language one. In order to find out more about these differences and evaluate their implications in terms of the interaction of the press, politics and the public it is meaningful to examine press coverage during a crisis. In time of crisis, the media become more important than is usually the case in their influence on political opinions, for they are drawn into an active role in the events themselves. This paper reports on a study that concentrated on one sector of the Canadian communications system, namely the printed daily press, and examined its coverage of the Canadian emergency in the fall. The study examined the influence of both language and region in the dissemination of news and sought out other factors such as size of community and distance from crisis that might be associated with variation in news coverage. For it was hypothesised that different population clusters in Canada receive significantly different accounts of the same political events and this has serious implications for Canadian unity.
The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of the application of survey data to government policy analysis. For over two years, Canadians have been engaged in a major review of their social security system. One aspect of this review has been the development of realistic proposals for a guaranteed annual income for Canadians. As part of the review process, the Federal Government has tried to develop and apply the analytical capabilities necessary to evaluate the policy implications of alternatives as they arose. One such development was the construction of a micro-simulation model based on a comprehensive income survey of the Canadian population. The purpose of this model was to estimate the costs and effectiveness of the given proposals.
Secondary analysis of benefit records of the Unemployment Insurance Commission is presented as a promising method for research on unemployment problems in Canada. This analysis will be conducted on a data bank or archive using a one percent sampling of these records. The construction and use of this data bank is expected to be a joint project by government agencies and a Canadian business school. Construction of this data bank is expected to be a complex undertaking. A series of preliminary studies have proven invaluable to researchers in planning the data bank and convincing government officials of its usefulness.