"Arbitron metrics often best serve the smooth 24-hour sound associated with commercial radio. Most Arbitron surveys offer the Average Quarter Hour as their basic unit of time/listening measurement. AQH is defined as "the average number of persons listening to a particular station for at least five minutes during a 15-minute period." But many community radio stations offer programs that assume the listener cares enough about the subject matter to tune in at a particular time.Excessive reliance on Arbitrons can result in a reluctance to schedule more risky programs, argues Karen Frillmann, a local advisory board member for Pacifica station WBAI in New York City. "So you program very consistently, and niche broadcasting--the narrow casting of commercial radio--is one of the results," Frillmann warns. "Not wanting to offend, not wanting to broadcast programs that challenge the other--wanting to develop a 'sound' that people seem to feel comfortable with is a risk to programmers who are interested in challenging listeners. So, if those programs that challenge bring in consistently low numbers, realistically one could argue that show should be moved off the air."
http://www.media-alliance.org/article.php?story=20040514122920626
>From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
>Reply-To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
>To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
>Subject: RE: [lbo-talk] Re: 9/11 related interviews or content
>Date: Fri, 28 May 2004 12:17:23 -0400
>
>Joseph Wanzala wrote:
>
>>Also, it is simply not true at KPFA and KPFK that listenership has
>>declined. Fund drives a re a tangile measure of listener support and both
>>KPFA and KPFK just completed very succesful fund drives (as KPFA
>>programmers/listeners on this list can attest - or just go to their
>>websites.
>
>How do you know listenership hasn't declined? Do you have Arbitrons? Or is
>it just a feeling? Fundraising is a hint, but it's hardly definitive.
>
>Doug
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