Say it ain't so, Jesse 'n Al!
(With apologies to Joseph Jefferson "Shoeless Joe" Jackson (Career batting av. - .356, 3rd highest), the Chicago White Sox, and Major League Baseball.)
Of course it is also possible that the cheating is being done by white liberals who are so conscience stricken over past injustices that they not only cheat in their listener diaries but also misrepresent their ethnicity to Arbitron.
Modern Technology (in the form of "People Meters") Marches On!!!
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. - Psalm 20:7
I report and link. You decide. - BJon
Other stations with high proportions of minority listeners were similarly affected. The urban adult contemporary station WBLS 107.5 dropped from No. 1 to No. 12. The urban contemporary station WRKS 98.7 fell from No. 3 to No. 9. [/] Previously, Arbitron had used paper diaries from sample listeners to determine ratings that were used to set prices for advertising. Under pressure to provide more detailed and accurate data, Arbitron has gradually swapped human memory for computer technology, in the form of pocket-size devices that detect radio frequencies to automatically determine which station is on.
Because advertisers purchase radio time by the ratings point, declines in reported listening could have serious effects on radio stations’ incomes. [/] Vinny Brown, the program director for WBLS, said people meters were “not a friend to ethnically designed radio stations. If we get hit with 30 or 40 percent loss of revenue, it will be difficult for us to remain in operation.”
From a New York Times article, New Way of Counting Radio Listeners May Cut Ad Income, more follows:
New Way of Counting Radio Listeners May Cut Ad Income [/] November 12, 2007 [/] By BRIAN STELTER
The test of a new method for measuring radio audience in New York showed big ratings declines for stations appealing to blacks and Hispanics last week, causing considerable consternation among station owners and programmers.
Arbitron, which measures ratings for the radio industry, has been testing a new electronic measurement tool that monitors exposure to radio stations throughout the day. The results of the so-called personal people meter in New York followed the pattern set by two earlier tests, in Houston and Philadelphia, in which stations appealing to minorities also fell.
The results also seem to echo a decline in ratings for minority television programs when Nielsen Media Research switched its measurement system in 2004. The change led to an intense lobbying effort by networks and some black leaders to postpone the widespread introduction of the new ratings system.
In Arbitron’s New York test, WPAT 93.1, a Spanish-language adult contemporary station, was ranked No. 7 in Arbitron’s summer ratings but fell to No. 19 in October’s personal people meter test among 25- to 54-year-olds. Sister station WSKQ 97.9 dropped from No. 4 to No. 7.
“No format changes were made. This is the same music, the same on-air personalities, and yet we’ve seen severe shifts in reported listening,” Frank Flores, the general manager of the WSKQ and WPAT, said.
[...] The test data won’t be used to set advertising rates until early next year. Still, the drastic ratings changes raised red flags about people meter methodology, and Arbitron agreed on Friday to have an independent board review the system in New York.
Tom Mocarsky, a senior vice president at Arbitron, said the declines at individual stations are a side effect of more precise measurements. Another interpretation is that a greater number of people are listening to more stations. According to diaries, the average African-American person in New York listens to radio 13.7 times a month. According to the people meters, the average number of listening occasions rises to 20.4.
“Your total time with radio is being divided among more stations and more occasions,” Mr. Mocarsky said. As a result, he said, each radio station’s share becomes smaller.
Mr. Mocarsky said Arbitron seeks a representative sample of each local market, with specific benchmarks for ethnic groups, genders and ages. He said the sample difficulties are most prominent not among races, but among age groups. [My ellipses and emphasis]
Jim :) Smiling aka Brother Jonathan aka Toto Of Kansas | Link to my Blogs, Forums & Essays
