As the rest of the country learned after the 2000 presidential election, South Florida has its own unique approach to counting things. So the folks at Nielsen Media Research and Arbitron shouldn't be surprised that their efforts to introduce new -- and, unquestionably, more accurate -- technology for compiling ratings for television and radio have been met with a reaction roughly similar to that of the apes hurling tones and tree branches at the monolith in 2002: A Space Odyssey.
Nielsen has been sued by the owners of WSVN-Fox 7 over its new set-top boxes that monitor TV viewing. And now the Miami-Dade county commissioners have demanded an attorney general investigation of Arbitron for the so-called personal people meters that are being being issued to sample radio listeners. Yeah, don't be fooled by failing banks, shootouts in the street or the political-corruption scandals that erupt on an hourly basis here: Our real problem is with rogue radio ratings. Here's an interview I did with Herald broadcast partner WLRN-FM (91.3) on what's causing all the fuss. The shocking answer: money.
UPDATE: Arbitron just blew off an attempt by the FCC to butt in on the debate over personal people meters. You think they're going to be impressed by Miami-Dade county commissioners?
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