Public radio ratings

[Shawn Mamros]

>In my newspaper today (3.22.07) there's a long article on public radio 
>stations' popularity, nationally, and that ARB ratings cannot be 
>touted.  However, there is a Top 20 list of public broadcasters in the 
>country and WGBH radio is not on it!!

Actually, that's not entirely surprising to me, for a couple of reasons:

- There are so many stations (commercial and non-comm) in the Boston
area that it's very difficult for any of them to get even double-digit
percentage ratings.  Numbers like 22% or 25% are utterly impossible
in this market.  A good station in a smaller market can pull that off,
with fewer stations to cut up the ratings pie, so to speak, but it
can't be done here.

(It'd be interesting if you could multiply those percentages times
some sort of actual population figure for the area, though I don't
know how one would ever figure out where to draw the line to determine
that number.  But it would give a much more realistic view of how
successful these stations really are, in my opinion.)

- Truth be told, I'd expect WBUR to show up on any such list before
WGBH would.  My understanding is that 'BUR handily beats 'GBH ratings-
wise, and has for quite some time.

-Shawn Mamros
E-mail to: mamros -at- mit dot edu