Date Approved

6-30-2003

Embargo Period

5-2-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. in Public Relations

Department

Public Relations & Advertising

College

Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts

Advisor

Bagin, Donald

Subject(s)

Audience participation television programs; Audiences; Radio talk shows; Television talk shows

Disciplines

Public Relations and Advertising

Abstract

This thesis sought to determine the methods audience coordinators used to recruit studio audiences. This portion of the thesis included a ten-question interview emailed to audience coordinators for current daytime talk shows in New York City. Interviews were also conducted with production executives and a director to determine the purpose and significance of audience as well as audience-related costs.

Second, the thesis sought to answer what audiences like and dislike, what they have done, what they will do, and what they believe as it pertains to studio attendance. This portion of the thesis included a fifteen-question survey addressing incentives, show topics, and confirmations to name a few.

The audience coordinators' recruitment tactics addressed in the interviews were compared with the tactics ratings found in the survey. The results of the surveys, interviews, and review of related material indicated that many of these tactics are ineffective and financially and socially damaging to a show. Therefore, it is necessary for audience coordinators to not only re-evaluate their current recruitment practices, but their perception of what audience coordination entails.

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