D Peter Maus wrote:

IBOCcrock wrote:
"Radio listening declines to record low, says Arbitron"

http://www.hear2.com/2007/11/radio-l....html#comments

Ha! Ha! Eduardo, HD Radio!

There is, now, a question about the accuracy of Arbitron's data,
using PPM, as well. And Radio is ****ED.

As much as IBOCcrock has a clearly asserted agenda, and is not
interested in the opposing views, he HAS exposed that there are serious
problems developing for Radio that will affect radios future.

He has also exposed the shills for who they are, and underscored the
questionable veracity of their assertions.

Today...from AllAccess.com:

Major Broadcasters Send Arbitron An Ultimatum

ALL ACCESS has obtained a copy of a letter sent to ARBITRON, and signed
by CLEAR CHANNEL RADIO, CUMULUS MEDIA, COX RADIO and RADIO ONE INC. In
it, the companies urge ARBITRON to address several issues that have been
highlighted in NET NEWS.

Here's the text of that letter:

November 14, 2007
Mr. Steve Morris
Mr. Pierre Bouvard
Mr. Owen Charlebois
The Arbitron Company
142 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019

Gentlemen,

It is with the utmost urgency and objection that we, your customers,
send you this letter.

All of us have been vocal supporters of the concept of electronic
measurement in radio for several years, and we remain committed to the
need for accurate, high quality electronic ratings as a way to program
and sell our stations. As of this writing, the PPM system has been
implemented in two markets for several months, with one month of
information available in New York. To date, PPM has not provided
accurate or reliable data for all demographic groups.

We are calling on you to take immediate action to resolve this.

The most immediate issue is sample size, especially with regard to 18-34
year olds and ethnic groups. The situation is clear: To secure a
legitimate representation of listener activity, the number of people
participating in the PPM survey must be increased.

Your recent proposal to lower the number of market-level respondents
needed to issue a valid report for a specific demographic is both
specious and dangerous. This proposal could result in some stations
doing business based on the activity of as few as a single -- one --
listener. Your own researchers have concluded that such a sample size
has a greater range of error than the size of the estimate.

There are many ethical and sound business choices that can be made by
Arbitron here. One is to eliminate the 6-11 portion of the sample and
reallocate those meters to participants in other demographics based on a
12+ population.

Under any circumstance, we expect guaranteed in-tab delivery in the
18-54 age group for all age cells and across all ethnic groups,
including Hispanics and African Americans.

Please be aware that this is a critical and immediate issue for your
customers undersigned and we are expecting an action plan to correct
these matters within 30 days.

Urgently,

Clear Channel Radio -- Cumulus Media -- Cox Radio -- Radio One Inc.

When contacted by ALL ACCESS, ARBITRON had "no comment at this time."

Don't worry, Edweenie will have it all straightened out shortly.