"M. Hale" wrote in message
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A question related to all of this: In the Williamsport ratings, who
would get credit if someone wrote down in their diary that they were
listening to WHOT?

The station probably registered WHOT as a slogan, along with the Hot
moniker. Since there is no other similar call in the MSA (Metro Survey Area
or Metropolitan statistical Area), the one with the fake calls used as a
slogan will get credit as long as Arbitron was notified.

WHOT at the time was not in Williamsport, it was
elsewhere - Youngstown, Ohio as Steven Sobol mentioned. On the same
vien would 103.9 WHOT or just 103.9 give credit to WHTO - the real 103.9
in Muncy (Williamsport)? Obviously, a radiophile who put down WHTO
would do the station best since they'd definitely get credit.

Again, if the staiton registered "WHOT - Hot" they would get credit. In
general, most diary entries are by frequency, so the point is almost moot.

To me, a situation like this is where a radio station shoots itself in
the foot by using calls on the air that are completely different than
those that they are legally assigned. It confuses the average listener,
but it would seem to me that it really confuses the ratings book which
is what all radio stations live an die by.

Since no one else uses the calls in the market area, I don't think the
listener would be confused at all.