Did Televising Watergate Matter?

A survey of persons who wrote letters to the
Cleveland public television station regarding the Watergate hearings
revealed that presentation of the Senate hearings improved PTV's
image in the minds of some viewers. A content analysis of the letters
written to the station indicated that 49 percent of the writers
specifically stated support for public affairs type programing. The
survey does, hawever, cast some doubt on optimistic predictions of a
new-found public television audience of contributors. Those whc
reported watching public television before the hearings began
generally reported that their level of viewing had not changed after
the Watergate hearings. Likewise, although a slight trend was noted,
there were no significant relationships between how a viewer's
at.tude toward public television was affected by the hearings and
any subsequent willingness to contribute to public television. These
factors of viewer continuity and contribution should be of particular
interest, because this population consisted of persons who were
committed enough to their opinions about the coverage of the Senate
hearings to write letters expressing these opinions.