Media use and public image of Blount County's 4-H program

The purpose of this study was to examine the image that Blount County, Tennessee, residents have of the 4-H Club and to determine the media that the residents use to get 4-H and general information. Image elements used in this study and by the 1974 and 1978 Gallup poll studies were awareness of, knowledge of, attitude toward, and perception of the importance of 4-H activities.

One hundred fifty-two Blount Countians responded to the random-sample telephone interview. The typical respondent had completed all or some of high school, was a homemaker, served as a volunteer for some youth organization, had been on had children who had been 4-H members, and was either 35 to 49 (39 percent) or 50 or above (37 percent).

A majority of respondents received a local newspaper, watched television, listened to radio, but did not receive magazines with 4-H information in them. The most frequently noted 4-H information sources were newspapers and personal contact.

Respondents were highly aware of 4-H, especially when they were prompted with the term "4-H." They also had favorable attitudes toward 4-H and saw its activities as "very worthwhile." However, almost half the respondents knew "very little" about 4-H.

All of this suggests that a public relations effort--that was targeted to the group with "some" knowledge of 4-H and that used the correct media and messages--could effectively create the interest needed to further the volunteer and financial support that the organization now enjoys.