3112-0001SupStatA

SUPPORTING STATEMENT A

AUDIENCE AND PROGRAM RESEARCH ACTIVITY FOR

BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS,

OFFICE OF CUBA BROADCASTING

OMB NO. 3112-0001

A. JUSTIFICATION

1-2 Radio Marti was created by Public Law 98-111, the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act, “to provide for the broadcasting of accurate information to the people of Cuba, and for other purposes.” This act was amended (by PL 101-246), which established the authority for TV Marti. The Broadcasting Board of Governors implements these radio and television broadcasts to Cuba through the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. In order to evaluate Radio and TV Marti’s effectiveness in meeting this mandate, and to improve their transmission service, information must be gathered to assess the Cuban audience’s perceptions of and reactions to the stations’ programs, in order to maintain the relevance, objectivity and accuracy of the news, information and other programming broadcast by the station. The audience and programming information gathered is to be used to evaluate and improve Radio and TV Marti programming services and to guide implementation of changes necessary to best meet the stations’ Congressional mandate. Were the information not collected, there would exist a vacuum of reliable data on which to judge the effectiveness of the Radio and TV Marti services or upon which to base programming, scheduling, and other management decisions.

3. Current collection efforts are limited to a small number of demographic and programming questions asked of Cuban arrivals, and focus group discussions with a very small number of those arrivals, and therefore electronic submission of responses is not required.

4. Attempts have been made to identify public and private entities conducting current research on Cuban audience. To the best of our knowledge, there is no public or private entity conducting Cuban audience research that would meet Radio and TV Marti’s information needs either in type or volume. Cuba is subject to a totalitarian state that controls all means of information. Access to information about events on the island is restricted. The amount of information getting out of Cuba through international press agencies is extremely limited and censored.

5. Not Applicable. No data is collected from small businesses.

6. Radio and TV Marti have the need for a variety of audience and programming information that is used to evaluate and improve its news, information and other programming services in order to meet their congressional mandate. Should information gathering activities be conducted less frequently, Radio and TV Marti would run the risk of losing touch with their audience and the situation in which they live, resulting in a deterioration of Marti’s effectiveness and ability to fulfill its mission.

7. There are no special circumstances of which we are aware that require that information be collected in a manner inconsistent with the guidelines.

8. In the past, Radio Marti contracted independent researchers to consult on its audience research efforts and established an Audience Research Methodology Expert Panel, which assisted Marti’s researchers in evaluating its audience research activities. With the assistance of these experts, research changes were modeled after those of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty and adapted to the Cuban situation. If necessary, experts on audience research for surrogate broadcasting can again be called upon for consultation.

9. Respondents who participate in focus groups may receive an incentive payment of $50.00 in line with market research industry standard practice, while survey respondents may receive $20.00.

10. Respondents are assured that their names will not be released to the public or used in any public forum without their prior and express consent. Computerized interactive group testing allows focus group participants to answer anonymously. All Office of Cuba Broadcasting research activities follow a policy of strict confidentiality with the names and addresses of those who participate in its surveys. Internal access to this information is restricted, and contractors are required to adhere to the same standards of confidentiality.

11. Respondents are not asked questions considered to be of a private or sensitive nature in content. Respondents are asked questions concerning their use of radio and television while in Cuba and their reaction to Radio and TV Marti programming. Basic demographic data (age, gender, occupation) are also gathered.

12. In providing research for Radio and TV Marti, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting utilizes a number of audience research methodologies to gather information on the media habits of the Cuban radio and TV audience and reactions to its programming, including Field Surveys and Focus Group Studies.

a. Sociological Field Surveys/Interviews — Field surveys will be conducted by

a contractor. A basic questionnaire is used to gather information on demographics and programming.

Number of Respondents 400
Number of Responses per Respondents 1
Total Annual Response 400
Hours per Response .50

Total Hours (SUB-TOTAL) 200

(Est. based on 400 respondents being interviewed once per year)

b. Focus Group Studies - Radio and TV Marti conduct more in-depth Focus Group studies on reaction to programming and on areas of interest to program planning managers. Focus Groups are conducted in the United States.

Number of Respondents 48
Number of Responses per Respondents 1
Total Annual Response 48
Hours per Response 4

Total Hours (SUB-TOTAL) 192

(Est. based on one focus group of 24 persons being held every 6 months)

Cumulative - Annual estimated collection burden for Radio and TV Marti field surveys and focus group studies:

Number of Respondents 448
Number of Responses per Respondents 1
Total Annual Response 448
Hours per Response .875
Total Hours - 392

13. There is no quantifiable cost to the respondents aside from the time that they spend in an interview. Survey questionnaires are administered in person by contract interviewers during the respondent’s non-work hours and with his or her consent. Participants in focus groups attend voluntarily and at their convenience, may be given a $50.00 cash incentive (survey respondents may be provided $20.00) in accordance with prevailing research industry standards, and are provided free transportation.

14. This data-collection activity involves no capital or start-up costs that are not part of customary and usual agency activities. All costs derive from operations, maintenance, and purchase of services. Estimates of annual cost to the Federal Government are as follows.

Purchase Orders, Contracts:

Surveys $65,000
Focus Groups $45,000

TOTAL COST TO GOVERNMENT $110,000

15. The number of respondents will decrease from 748 per year to 448, primarily because the field surveys will be done only once per year, rather than twice per year, while the estimated total cost to the government will increase from $69,000 to $110,000, based upon actual cost experience to perform the surveys and subsequent analysis of the data.

16. The information to be collected is not intended for publication for statistical use.

17. Not applicable.

18. Not applicable.