The objective of this study is to discuss the peculiarity and complexity of the newspaper product which places it among the products, or as the sole product, whose relationship with the consumer is so complex and, above all, diversified, that the researcher's work does not become any less complex.
The objective of this study is to discuss the peculiarity and complexity of the newspaper product which places it among the products, or as the sole product, whose relationship with the consumer is so complex and, above all, diversified, that the researcher's work does not become any less complex.
This paper discusses the way readers ensure that the things they read in magazines and newspapers are well adapted to their individual needs - and how close the relationship often is between the reader and the publication.
Quantitative media research is regularly undertaken in the Netherlands, such as the TON and NOP surveys, to mention but two. Qualitative media research is regularly discussed in the Netherlands, as for instance, at Media Work Group meetings and seminars. In practice, however, and more is the pity, little is done about it. Favourable exceptions are the NINA research of the VNU (United Nether lands Publisher) and Young Love of Muziek Expres. Aside from the possible objections that could be made against the methods used in these surveys, one important disadvantage is that only a few titles were investigated and that no single source results were obtained with the quantitative medium research data. Thanks to the fact that the NOP management, by means of a so called Omnibus, opened up NOP' 75 to third parties, qualitative medium questions could be included in a big random test (N=10,000) and for a large number of titles. This also enabled the linking of quantitative and qualitative medium data. HET BESTE uit Reader's Digest made use of this opportunity to elucidate two qualitative aspects for all periodicals listed in NOP. At the same time the connection was examined between these aspects.
What it attempts to do is to draw attention, in the light of a summary description of some of the experiments carried out by SOFRES over the past two years in the area of qualitative data retrieval and processing for media studies, to the most pertinent questions concerning qualitative data and the use to which they could be put if they were given wide currency, either as a feature of existing collective surveys (such as those performed in France by the C.E.S.P.) or as the basis of complementary studies specifically designed for the purpose, with a view to going beyond the mere determination of the number of contacts between a vehicle and its readership. The paper deals only with two broad areas of research: Firstly, attempts to achieve a precise determination of the circumstances characterising a reader contact. Secondly, attempts to determine the nature of the relationships that develop between the vehicle and its readers. Less progress has been made in this direction than in that of media time-budgets, but the findings thus far are nevertheless sufficient to form the basis of a consistent methodological approach to such problems.
The attitude of a magazines' selection by the reader himself indicates a system of preferences towards specific magazines based on values, which are not to be explained by reading probabilities only and which finally could be explained by "Reader-Magazine-Relationship". Within this paper we therefore would like to demonstrate on base of the results of experimental surveys done by the Reader's Digest in Germany since 1972 how "Reader-Magazine- Relationship" can be measured and which influence on ad effectiveness "RMR" has. This, because the assumption that a reader with "RMR" towards a specific magazine has a higher ad noticing probability in his "favourite magazine" than in any other magazine he reads, since he reads this magazine more leisurely, more thoroughly, picks it up repeatedly etc.
The following study is concerned with the question as to the relationship between the topics offered in the editorial matter of magazines and the demographic attributes of the readers. To put it more briefly but not quite so precisely: Who reads what? Two standard studies from the media sector in Germany served to reveal the relationships between editorial matter and the demographic attributes of the readers: 1. Analysis of magazine readers and; 2. GIW Content, Analysis of magazine contents.
The following study is concerned with the question as to the relationship between the topics offered in the editorial matter of magazines and the demographic attributes of the readers. To put it more briefly but not quite so precisely: Who reads what? Two standard studies from the media sector in Germany served to reveal the relationships between editorial matter and the demographic attributes of the readers: 1. Analysis of magazine readers and; 2. GIW Content, Analysis of magazine contents.