Calling all 78-year-olds – and better. A team of researchers from York University in Toronto would like Langley residents aged 78 and over to tune into their research on radio, wrote BClocalnews.com March 15:

[Fourth-year undergraduate student] Aidan Moir is one of the research assistants working on the Remembering Radio project with Professor Anne MacLennan [Communications Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies].

"The objective of the Remembering Radio project is to record and save early memories of radio in the lives of everyday Canadians," Moir said. "The hope is to discover more about the role of radio in the homes and lives of ordinary Canadians from its inception."

The phase of the project involving local seniors is centred on listeners’ memories from the 1930s, he added, noting that studies of radio audience, their opinions, likes and dislikes, program preferences, and the role of Canadian radio, are rare.

"The information that the listeners from that time period have to share is very valuable to this project," she said.

The study is Canada-wide, but is weak in a number of areas, especially in British Columbia, Moir said.

She assured that no one interviewed for the study will incur cost.

Those taking part in the Remembering Radio will become part of history as the project will be folded into a book.

This research has been awarded a Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada grant to interview Canadian listeners.  Email amaclenn@yorku.ca for the quickest response.  You can also leave messages at 416-736-2100 extension 33857.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile – York University’s daily e-bulletin.