MEDIA / KEVIN BRASS : KPBS Members Don’t Surf, but They Do Like to Garden

KPBS members don’t surf. They prefer gardening, and, when they read, they pick up “Sunset” more than “Playboy” and “The New Yorker.”

They’re rich and old, too, but they don’t own airplanes.

These are the conclusions of a KPBS survey, so it’s not like they are facts. But staffers in all KPBS departments are poring over pages of information about the quirks and life styles of dues-paying members of the local public broadcasting organization (both radio and television). The 57-question demographic survey was sent to 1,000 members.

About 600 of the questionnaires were returned, a seemingly small number of KPBS’ 60,000 members, but enough, the demographic researchers say, to get an accurate sampling.

Michael Good, the editor of KPBS’ “On Air” magazine, was pleased by response to the four-page questionnaire.

“I was surprised people spent as much time as was required to fill out the survey,” Good said.

He helped develop the questionnaire, and the results will primarily be used to help sell advertising space in “On Air,” KPBS’ monthly magazine. Good wrote in this month’s edition (which is mailed to all KPBS members), that he always envisioned the “On Air” reader as a “sort of idealized version of myself--curious about all the things I am curious about, but perhaps somewhat better looking and more punctual.”

The 35-year-old Good was wrong in a big way. Typical KPBS members are nothing like him. For one, they’re a lot older. The median age of female KPBS members is 61.8 years; the males are slightly younger at 58.1.

KPBS members are also far richer than Good. According to the survey, 10% of KPBS households are worth more than $1 million. Although 7% of the members have annual incomes of less than $20,000, 6% make more than $200,000 a year; the median annual income is $55,556. They’re well educated, too. Eighty-five percent are college-educated, and 21.5% hold either a master’s degree or a doctorate.

Their favorite KPBS programs, in order, are “McNeil/Lehrer,” “Masterpiece Theater,” “Mystery!” “Nova” and “Nature.”

Unwilling to stop at this type of sketchy information, the survey, conducted by CIC Research at a cost of about $4,000, attempted to delve into the souls and psyches of KPBS members, to find out what makes them tick.

They’re not a real exciting bunch of folks. A whopping 65% listed gardening as a favorite leisure-time activity; 33% checked needlework. In the space provided for “other” responses, only one person filled in surfing, the same number listed “beading,” and four listed model railroading.

Thirty-two percent subscribe to “Sunset” magazine. Only two respondents listed “Playboy,” and four said they subscribe to “Organic Gardening.”

Some of the responses were inexplicable, if not downright strange. Twenty-two percent said they visited or planned to visit Hawaii, for non-business reasons, which doesn’t seem unusual. Except almost as many, 19%, had vacationed in Phoenix, of all places.

“Think that one over,” Good said.

The vague questions probably had a lot to do with some of the strange responses. Asked to list the forms of transportation used on recent vacations, one person wrote “canoe.” A surprising 1.6% said they didn’t live in a single-family home, condo, apartment or mobile home. One person said he lived in “Dominimus Pud,” which sent Good scurrying to the dictionary. He is still unclear what the person meant.

Clearly, the survey, the type done by most publications, is meant to be a sketch, not a blueprint of KPBS members. At least now KPBS management knows that only 9% of its members surveyed scuba dive.

Once he got over the shock of being fired last Thursday, KKLQ (Q106) morning guy Jack Murphy became philosophical, considering the seven months remaining on his contract. “I’m just going to sit at home until March and collect my $15,000 a month,” he said. A personality conflict with program director Garry Wall appears to be the primary factor in Murphy’s sudden departure. “I wouldn’t call it a personality conflict because he doesn’t have one,” Murphy said. . . .

Despite an avalanche of hype, tickets sales for the Aug. 22 Who concert are still hovering around the 30,000 mark, according to XTRA-FM (91X), sponsor of the concert. The station says its break-even point is 50,000 tickets. “We expect sales to start picking up now,” said program director Kevin Stapleford, adding that he had been wary about a Rolling Stones’ announcement of tour dates. “Now we’re feeling pretty good about it.” . . .

Although 91X has been touting its exclusive rights to the concert, even sending out a threatening letter to other stations, it can’t stop KGB from saying, “KGB welcomes The Who to San Diego.” . . .

It was the type of innocent slip of the tongue that makes television news a hilarious business. Reporting on Tuesday night’s Assembly election, KGTV (Channel 10) reporter Jim Wilkerson, live, in the heat of the moment, introduced an interview by saying a candidate would share his views of the “erection.” . . .

Local underwater photographer Chuck Nicklin, a founder of the local Diving Locker chain, spent three months working on the massive, notoriously over budget “The Abyss.” He saw it for the first time last Tuesday night. “There was one scene where they go into the submarine that we worked on for a week, and it just goes by in a flash,” he said. . . .

KSON General Manager Clarke Brown is moving up the corporate ladder. He has been promoted to senior vice president of radio for Jefferson Pilot Communications, owners of KSON and eight other stations. He’ll move to Atlanta, where he’ll assume control of WQXI-AM and FM. Mike Stafford, will move up from general sales manager to replace Brown at KSON. The changes take effect Sept. 1. . . .

Twenty-five journalists played hooky to attend a late-morning screening of “sex, lies and videotape” last week. Usually, five is a crowd for screenings. . . .

The Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater press release made it clear there was something very wrong with the previous press release about the upcoming lunar eclipse. “PLEASE DESTROY RELEASE BY SAME NAME THAT WAS MAILED YESTERDAY--IT CONTAINS ERRORS,” the headline read, highlighted in yellow. In fact, the error was relatively serious. The earlier release had the wrong date for Wednesday’s eclipse. “Our astronomer forgot to convert the time to Pacific time,” a theater spokeswoman said. . . .

After six years earning a slew of awards as a senior producer for KPBS-TV, Matthew Eisen resigned recently to pursue free-lance projects. . . .

“San Diego Chronicles,” the KNSD-TV (Channel 39) show that debuted in June with an hour-long program on entrepreneurs, is on hold. “It’s still alive,” said executive producer Doug Dougherty. “We’re just trying to figure out how to make it a quality program and bring it in under budget.”