Radio Ratings

For virtually the entire time I've been a broadcaster, I've heard complaints from the owners and employees of radio stations with "minority" or Urban formats that they aren't treated fairly by the giant ratings service "Arbitron". Now apparently the FCC is going to take an in-depth look at those allegations, but with a modern twist. The complaints I heard were about the old way of measuring radio listening...getting people to keep a written diary of their listening for a week or two. According to a story in the Washington Post, the agency will look into allegations that the "people-meters" that replaced the paper diary method are also unfair to minority media. I don't know if the meters are better or not, but I've always felt the methods of measuring radio listening are flawed and too subject to manipulation by station owners. Put up enough billboards and a diary keeper will think your call-letters even if they hadn't really listened. And it's a given that many diary keepers wait till the end of the week and then fill in--from memory!--what they listened to that week. Perhaps the meters have similer problems.