AbstractsCommunication

Audio based public service announcements remain a relevant media for message dissemination although much of the research literature now focuses on video based messages. This study examines the effects of producer type on information retention of PSAs regarding issues targeted toward college students. To conduct this experiment, three professionally produced PSAs were selected and college students in second semester audio recording class produced three PSAs regarding the same topics with the same facts. Subjects were placed into groups using a Latin Squares where they were exposed to one variation of each of the three PSAs. Subjects completed the listening activity and immediately completed a cued recall survey. Two weeks later, subjects were given a web-based free recall survey. No significant difference was found in regards to producer type in regards to cued recall. The results of this study show that students were more likely to retain information from PSAs they found to be interesting or entertaining regardless of the producer type. Future research is necessary to further investigate the impact producer type has on the information retention rates of PSAs targeted to college students.