N.J. Senator Keeps The Heat On Arbitron…

Monday, January, 12, 2009 by Mel Phillips.

I don’t know what Senator Robert Menendez’s (D-NJ) agenda is in his battle with Arbitron but the senator just won’t let go.  Despite the legal ransom paid by Arbitron to settle the case against them on their PPM methodology in New York and New Jersey and despite being accredited by the Media Rating Council in Riverside-San Bernardino, Menendez would still like the FCC to investigate the PPM rollout…

Calling the Portable People Meter a “flawed data gathering methodology”, Menendez issued this statement: “This is confirmation that our concerns regarding PPM and its negative impact on minority broadcasters are well founded.  PPM is a flawed data gathering methodology that should not have been allowed to rollout in the first place.  We applaud Attorney General Cuomo and Attorney General Milgram’s leadership in taking up this issue and their hard work to make sure Arbitron is not allowed to continue using this product in the New York and New Jersey area”…

Menendez wasn’t through, adding this, “we can’t expect this problem to be solved on a state-by-state basis.  It is unacceptable that no action by the Federal Communications Commission has been taken to address this issue.”  Menendez did not add that this whole process prevented a company from doing business without any solid evidence that Arbitron’s PPM was, or is a “flawed data gathering methodology”…  

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1949] Debuted on this date: “Arthur Godfrey and His Friends” on CBS-TV. It will run 10 seasons on the network.  This clip contains the firing of Julius LaRosa…1965] “Hullabaloo” on NBC-TV. Runs from January 12, 1965 to August 29, 1966…1966] “Batman” on ABC-TV. The original series runs 2 seasons…1971] The Archie Bunker era begins as “All in the Family” debuts on CBS-TV. The show morphs into ‘Archie Bunker’s Place’ in 1979 and spawns “The Jeffersons“…1981] “Dynasty“, inspired by “Dallas” starts an 8-year run on ABC-TV…
2. 1958] Deuces are wild: The NCAA adopts the two-point conversion option after touchdowns. The AFL started using this when it began in 1960, the NFL followed in 1994…
3. 1967] Frozen stiff: Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation…
4. 1969] Guaranteed: Joe Namath’s guarantee holds up when the Jets shock the NFL with their upset win over the Baltimore Colts to win Super Bowl III in the Orange Bowl.  We pick up the action with less than 30 seconds left.  Here’s the great Curt Gowdy…
5. 1971] Harrisburg Six: The Reverend Philip Berrigan and five others are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, D.C.  The brothers Berrigan were quite the pair of activists…
6. 1976] ‘Happy Trails’: Mystery writer Agatha Christie dies from natural causes at 85…2003] Following emergency abdominal surgery, Maurice Gibb dies from cardiac arrest at 53…
7. 1995] Gotcha: Malcolm X’s daughter Qubilah Shabazz is arrested for conspiring to kill Louis Farrakhan…
8. 1998] On tap: Linda Tripp provides Kenneth Starr’s office with taped conversations between herself and Monica Lewinsky about you-know-who…
9. 2004] QM 2 sails: The world’s largest ocean liner, RMS Queen Mary 2, makes its maiden voyage.  The QM2 sails into San Francisco…
10. 2005] Guilty as charged: Britain’s Prince Harry apologizes after a newspaper publishes a photo of the young royal wearing a Nazi uniform to a costume party. Somewhere a beautiful princess is spinning as she did again over the weekend when the Prince did it again with his “Paki” and “Raghead” comments…

Music Memories:

• 1957] Recorded on this date: “All Shook Up” - Elvis Presley (recorded in a Hollywood studio)…
• 1959] Seed money: Berry Gordy Jr. borrows $800 from his sister to start Motown Records…
• 1963] Number One on this date: “Go Away Little Girl” - Steve Lawrence…1974] “The Joker” - Steve Miller Band…1985] “Born In The U.S.A.” LP - Bruce Springsteen. This replaced the “Purple Rain” LP (Prince) that was #1 for 24 weeks…
• 1995] Going to Hall: The Allman Brothers, Al Green, Janis Joplin, Martha & Vandellas, Neil Young, Frank Zappa and Led Zeppelin go into the ‘Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame’.  Zeppelin & Neil Young jam…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday“:

Heather Mills (41), Jeff Bezos (45), Christiane Amanpour (51), Howard Stern (55), Rush Limbaugh (58), Kirstie Alley (58), Joe Frazier (65), The Amazing Kreskin (74), Glenn Yarborough (79), Ray Price (83) and actress Luise Rainer (99)…

Timeline Countdown: 7 days until MLK Jr. Day, 8 days until the Inauguration, 20 days until the Super Bowl and 33 days until pitchers and catchers report voluntarily…

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