From Campus to Barangay

ABSTRACT

Mangune, P.L. (2010). From Campus to Barangay: A study on the listening preferences of DWLS 97.1 Campus Radio WLS-FM listeners as shaped by the station’s shift to a mass-oriented FM radio format – Barangay LS. Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis. University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication.

The study aimed to find out how the listening preferences of the listeners of the now defunct 97.1 Campus Radio WLS-FM were shaped by the station’s shift to a masa format 97.1 Barangay LS.

In-depth focused interviews were conducted with 12 key informants who were once avid listeners of Campus Radio. The study interpreted their attitude towards the shift as reflected in their reactions, sentiments and opinions, the changes in the pattern of their listening behavior and the factors that affected it, and the personal and social influences that led to the changes in their listening preferences.

The results showed that the listeners initially manifested a negative attitude of rejection towards the shift but gradually gained a positive attitude of acceptance as they understood the business aspect of the industry. After the shift, their listening habit declined in frequency as they transferred to several other FM stations, while some discontinued listening to the radio altogether and resorted to the television, the Internet, cellphones that support mp3 files, and portable mp3 players.

The researcher concluded that DWLS 97.1’s shift to a masa format has shaped the listening preferences of its former Campus Radio listeners as manifested in their attitude towards the shift and in the change in their radio listening habit. The factors that affected the change in their listening habit were their priority over academic obligations as college students, thus, they had less time for radio, and the rise of the technological devices for more convenient acquisition of and access to music. Their listening preferences were influenced by (1) their personal musical taste, which matured overtime and changed as they gradually appreciated other stations’ music genres after the shift, and (2) their socioeconomic background.

The study used in-depth focused interviews to generate required data for the study. However, other methods in the future can be conducted such as focus group discussions with former avid Campus Radio listeners, or expert interviews with the station’s key personnel for a historical study, or a content analysis of the new format 97.1 Barangay LS to find out how it perpetuates the masa culture on FM along with other existing masa stations on the FM band today.

Moreover, the researcher recommends the use of the Uses and Gratifications Theory or a political economic perspective to understand the power relations between a station’s management and its listeners.

The framework of the study, the Frankfurt School Theory, provided a background on media’s power to impose content that molded the preferences of its audiences.

View Thesis in flipbook: DWLS 97.1 (UP Webmail Account required)