Access and Technology: House Hearing on Arbitron

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on Wednesday on a topic that doesn't usually reach our radar: the manner in which local radio stations receive the ratings that determine their audience size and advertising rates. The debate that took place highlighted the difficulty of creating a balance between using technology for outreach while preserving access for all groups. House Oversight Chairman Ed Towns (D-NY) suggested that flaws in Arbitron's methodology may be costing minority communities one of their most crucial organizing tools. "What's at stake is life and death of one of the most viable industries for people of color," said Rep Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC). Arbitron Chief Executive Officer Michael Skarzynski argued that much of the decline in audience is due to the general economic situation, as well as the particular difficulties facing the radio industry such as the rise of the Internet. He said the rating declines facing minority and urban radio stations have also emerged in other formats, including talk and Christian radio. But according to Univision's Ceril Shagrin, the disproportionate impact of the new methodology on specific audiences would suggest that at very least Arbitron is facing issues with its sample size. Federal Communications Commission member Mignon Clyburn was in the audience but admitted the FCC probably doesn't have jurisdiction over Arbitron.