CIBAR - the Conference on International Broadcasting Audience Research - is taking place this week at Radio Australia in Melbourne. About 20 audience research professionals will attend this annual meeting. This may not seem like a large number, but audience research is a highly specialized corner of international broadcasting.
It also can be an awkward job. Audience researchers may not always be seen as "team players", because their job is to provide estimates of the size and makeup of the audience, even if that information is not always favourable. Audience research is not a useful management tool unless it is accurate.
Audience researchers ensure that the samples used in their surveys are representative of the population of the target country. And, during the survey period, the output of the international broadcaster must be typical: no extra transmissions or extraordinary publicity spurts.
Processing the numbers
After the research is conducted, the data are tabulated. BBC World Service and US international broadcasting can count their audiences in the millions, but these millions are not always as impressive as they would seem.
However, BBC's audience numbers are higher, often above ten percent, among elite groups such as the university educated. This is where BBC World Service has its main influence.
Everything is relative
A preoccupation with reaching millions of listeners can also tempt international broadcasters to concentrate on the larger countries, like China, India, and Indonesia. For example, a station could have an audience of three million in India, a big number, but only one half of one percent of the adult Indian population.
On the other hand, an international radio station might reach 700,000 listeners in Papua New Guinea. That's not such a big number, but it is 20 percent of the PNG adult population. This international broadcaster probably has a real impact on what people in PNG know about the world.
Sizing up the targets
The lesson here is that international broadcasters should not discount small countries. Small countries often have deficient domestic media structures, so more people will make the effort to tune in foreign broadcasts. Also, small countries are just as sovereign as large countries, and just as capable of mischief. They could become naval bases for future superpowers, harbour terrorists or participate in the international drug trade.
Most international radio stations have audiences that number in the thousands rather than in the millions. That really is enough to have an impact. These thousands of listeners are inclined to buy products from, and to visit, the broadcasting country. If the broadcasting country should find itself in some sort of duress, these listeners can contact their local media and their government officials, who may otherwise not be aware of those problems.
In addition to counting the number of listeners, international broadcasting audience research also gathers data about the media environment in the target country. For example, it determines how many people have access to shortwave radio, the Internet, and satellite television.
Take the initiative
So take the initiative yourself. Write to the international radio stations you listen to (or whose websites you read). Sometimes there are opportunities to join listener panels. Let them know that you are out there, and what you think about their content.
*) Kim Andrew Elliott is an audience research analyst at the International Broadcasting Bureau. Views expressed are his own. Kim's personal website is www.kimandrewelliott.com.
Tags: audience research, cibar, international broadcasting, radio