Surveys and other audiences research for Radio and TV Marti

BBG Qualitative Research Among Cuban Immigrants 2012-2013
Lifestyles and Media Habits in Cuba Among Male Recent Immigrants
Focus Group Moderator’s Guide
I.

Moderator Introduction

A. Why we’re here. To talk about your daily lives in Cuba, your habits, pleasures, worries. Also
about your use of media for entertainment and to keep up-to-date. In particular, we’re
interested in your experiences and perspectives as men on the island, and what they meant to
you.
B. Rules of the group. There are no correct or incorrect answers. The most important thing is that
you try to speak frankly about your experiences and opinions when you were in Cuba.
Confidentiality; presence of assistants (in other room); recording of discussion to better recall it
later.
II.

Participants Introduction
Name (not surname), when left Cuba, age, where you lived in Cuba, family situation,
occupation or main activity there

III.
IV.

Main Topics for Discussion


Describe for me a typical weekday (in terms of your schedule, activities, free time)
[PROBE] main worries, things you most enjoyed/anticipated; balancing roles
of homemaker and work outside home;



Describe for me a typical weekend day (in terms of your schedule, activities, free
time)
[PROBE] Diversions, pastimes; Friday nights, Saturdays day and evening,
Sundays



[AS NEEDED, FOLLOW-UP: How did you spend your free time? What kinds of
things did you do to entertain yourself—social activities (where), music, TV, radio,
etc.?



Who watched TV? When/At what times? [weekends/weekdays]
Did you get your TV with a regular antenna, by satellite dish or “el cable”? Which
channels and programs?]
[PROBE IF NECESSARY: Did you like to watch sporting events on TV, sports news
or roundups? Which/Why these?]
[FOLLOW-UP ANY SPONTANEOUS MENTION OF TV MARTI PROGRAMS: How
did you see the programs? How often? When was the first and last time you saw
them? Were you afraid or cautious about watching them?]



Who listened to the radio? When/Where? [hours weekends and weekdays]; at
home/outside of home, at work] Which stations and programs? How good or bad
was the reception?]
[PROBE IF NECESSARY: Did you listen to sports events on radio? Which/Why
these?]

[FOLLOW-UP ANY SPONTAEOUS MENTION OF RADIO MARTÍ OR OTHER
FOREIGN RADIO: Which programs? How did you listen—AM, shortwave,
recordings? When was the first and last time you were able to listen? Reception
quality? Were you afraid or cautious about listening to them?]


In Cuba, did you go to sports events—as spectator or player? What kinds? Were
these popular? Was it possible for many people to go to watch sports events (cost,
time, etc.)? Which sports and countries were most interesting for Cubans to watch on
TV or listen to on the radio?



Who had access to Internet in Cuba? Where/How? If you paid for access, how
much? How often did you use it? Email only or Web too? What types of sites did you
visit? Could you communicate with people outside Cuba (email, text, Twitter,
Facebook)?



Who used a mobile in Cuba? How did you use it—calls, text messages, Internet via
Wi-Fi? Could you talk or send/receive texts with people abroad? Did your mobile
have a camera? Did you take pictures with it? Did you share them with others?



Was it possible for you to get together much with your friends—be they family,
neighbors, or others? How often and where? How did you organize get-togethers
with friends? What did you do when you got together? Did you speak about your
problems with friends? What kind?



What kind of music did you listen to in Cuba? Which artists, groups, types of music
were your favorites? [from Cuba or abroad?] How did you get music to listen to—
radio, CDs, cassettes, digital on Flash drive or mobile?



How did you stay abreast of news? [Speaking with relatives/friends, listening to
radio, watching TV, reading newspapers, Internet, etc.] How much time did you
spend and at what hours did you follow news on a typical day—weekday and
weekend?
[PROBE IF MENTIONED: Relatives abroad—did you speak with them about news?
Which? Any foreign media for news—radio, TV, Internet? Which? How did you tune
in or see/hear them? Websites?]



How would you describe your economic situation in Cuba?
[PROBE: Have them characterize the level of difficulty in satisfying basic needs;
percentage of their time spend to be able to maintain the household/family; could
they—by saving or with help of family abroad, etc.—buy some things/goods that
were beyond their daily necessities? What items were in style, highly desirable (that
many wanted to have), among your friends and family in Cuba?



From the perspective of men like you, what were the most serious problems in
Cuba?
[ALLOW SPONANEOUS MENTION; PROBE IF NECESSARY:]
Lack of work to be able to support your family
Alcohol and drug abuse
[IF RADIO OR TV MARTI HAS BEEN MENTIONED, ASK:] What do you think are
the types of programming, information, or services foreign media like Radio and TV
Martí can offer to help men like you on the island?

