Changes in the function of radio with the adoption of television

Abstract

What happens to the other mass media when television becomes established in a community? What changes in attention habits develop among the members of the potential audiences? Most studies of these changes have been made on a pre‐ and post‐basis, over a period of time. The present report analyzes two comparable Canadian towns, one with television, the other still without, during the same year, 1959. This comparison of the mass media attention habits of children in “TVtown” and “Radiotown” covers radio, television, book and comic book reading. Its concept is very similar to the report by William S. Baxter starting on p. 49 on the listening, reading and viewing habits of young people in Des Moines in 1950 and 1958. Although the two studies were not written for direct comparison, the Journal feels that it will be of value to its readers for them to be placed in juxtaposition.