Archive for Wednesday, September, 10, 2008

A Pig? - No, A Bulldog? - Yes!!!

Wednesday, September, 10, 2008 by Mel Phillips.

Andrew Cuomo is a bulldog without lipstick.  Cuomo never met a man (or woman) he didn’t prosecute.  It did not surprise me to hear that the New York State Attorney General is now taking on Arbitron.  In a letter to Arbitron  Cuomo noted his concern over personal people meters (PPM’s) which are about to become the standard measurement methodology in New York.  He said the new system is “neither reliable nor fair, and may have a dramatically negative impact on minority broadcasting in New York.”  Minority broadcasters, opposed to PPM’s recently petitioned the FCC to intervene and the commission is now holding public meetings for feedback on the system.  New York City Council head Christine Quinn has also voiced her concern…

So here we go again folks - still another challenge to Arbitron’s PPM’s.  Will this ever have an end?  In order to become the standard in New York by October 8th when PPM’s were set to fully launch, this issue must be resolved or pushed back to a later starting date…

You may remember that earlier this year, the Media Ratings Council refused to approve the people meter for use in New York.  That decision is now being reconsidered.  For the umpteenth time, Arbitron has defended their tweaking of PPM’s, fixing their earlier problems and also issued a statement arguing that the media industry should be concerned about attempts to “supplant or short-circuit” accreditation for people meters.”  Whatever happens in New York will be precedent setting and have an effect wherever PPM’s have become the standard…

10 Timeline Memories:

  1. 1846] In stitches: Elias Howe of Spencer (MA) receives a patent for the sewing machine. To celebrate, Howe gets ripped, wearing a smile that looks like it was sewn on. From that day on he was known as that old “sew and sew”…
  2. 1935] Premiered on this date: “Popeye” debuts on NBC Radio…1955] “Gunsmoke” debuts on CBS-TV…1990] Will Smith debuts as “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air“…1990] Ellis Island reopens…1993] “The X-Files” debuts on Fox…
  3. 1953]Mmmmm: Swanson begins selling “TV dinners” giving us these luscious choices: Salisbury steaks, Meatloaf, Fried chicken and Turkey. All come with delicious mashed potatoes and the greenest peas you’ve ever seen…
  4. 1955] Bert parks: Bert Parks begins a 25-year career of singing “There She Is, Miss America” as host of the famous pageant on NBC-TV…
  5. 1963] Standoff: 20 black students enter public schools in Alabama following a standoff between federal marshall’s and Alabama Governor George C. Wallace…
  6. 1972] Curtains: Gayle Sayers of the Bears retires after only 7 years in the NFL. He bows out as the lifetime return leader at the time with 9,435 combined net yards and 336 points…1993] NBC-TV airs its last episode of “Late Night With David Letterman” as Letterman takes his show to CBS-TV…
  7. 1974] Legalized larceny: The Cardinals’ Lou Brock sets a new major league record for stolen bases in one season with stolen base number 105…
  8. 1988] Steffi steals the cup: West Germany’s Steffi Graf wins the first women’s Grand Slam since Margaret Court in 1970 by taking the U.S. Open final…
  9. 1989] Two-sport hero: Deion Sanders scores a touchdown in his NFL debut with Atlanta 5 days after hitting a home run for the Yankees. Sanders becomes the 1st athlete to play in a World Series and Super Bowl…
  10. 1995] Emmy Gold: “NYPD Blue”, “ER”, “Frasier” and Candice Bergen are winners at the 47th Emmy Awards…2000] “The West Wing“ wins a record 9 Emmy’s including “Best Drama Series”…

Music Memories:

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”: Guy Ritchie (40), Colin Firth (48), Amy Irving(55), Aerosmith’s Joe Perry (58), Bill O’Reilly (59), Judy Geeson (60), Jose Feliciano (63), Danny Hutton (66) and the legendary Arnold Palmer (79)…

Timeline Countdown: 12 days until the beginning of autumn, 18 days until the end of the regular MLB season and 20 days until the playoffs…

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