Sponsor (July-Sept 1961)

49TH & MADISON {Continued from page 14) We wonder if you would be kind enough to furnish us this picture for use in The Coca-Cola Bottler. William H. Boring. Jr. editor Coca-Cola Bottler Atlanta, Ga. • SPONSOR gets frequent requests for permission to reprint its copyrighted material. We are generally happy to comply subject to written request and specified use. The ratings 'problem' This is about your editorial of 24 July on the KQBY incident. You caution readers against letting such incidents "lead to over-emotional thinking" about the rating "problem," then you proceed to emotional thinking of your own. While Sherry Gordon is not the first broadcaster, nor will he be the last to blame his problems on rating services, I think editorial writers owe the industry a greater sense of responsibility. First of all, what is the rating problem? Mr. Gordon says the rating services didn't measure all the people who were listen ISION... INTEGRITY Woodrow Wilson, twentyeighth president of the United States, was born in Staunton, Virginia in 1856. A stimulating teacher and capable administrator, Wilson was essentially a man of immense vision and intellect. His never relinquished dream of a League of Nations, which would prevent future^conflicts, lives on as a challenge to us today. We at the Shenandoah Life Stations accept the challenge with all Broadcasters of integrity to keep ever before us the vision of better programs, finer service and increasing prestige for our industry. WSLS TV ROANOKE , VIRGINIA AM 61 • FM 99.1 NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES AVERY-KNODEL, INC.. m "THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR INTEGRITY" ing. Sponsor says the problem i "infatuation with ratings." Whose ir f atuation ? Hoopers ? Nielsen's Pulse's? Certainly we're "infatuated with ratings. We've each earned ac ceptance in the industry by provic ing data concerning which the Harri report said: "We do feel that th ratings are sufficiently accurate, tha their defects are sufficiently known and the willingness of the ratin. services to provide information 01 quality sufficiently clear, at least whe specific questions are asked, for th users to have the main responsibilit for decisions made on the basis o the ratings." When new kinds o data are needed, and there is enoug support for them, we provide it. D you mean radio stations' infatua tion? Why not say so! Do you meai the inclination of many broadcaster to pursue large masses of listeners and the inclination of most advertis ers to underwrite that pursuit? What' most disappointing to me about you] editorial writer's effort is the tern "better standard." Qualitative mea surement is here, now. We are do ing more and more of it every day In fact, in Mr. Gordon's own city o San Francisco, in June, 1959, w« conducted a study on the upper one third income level of the population authorized by another good musii station. We also did a study of shan of audience by occupation of house houd head. Similar research has al ways been available to Mr. Gordon If he had authorized same, I daresa) we could have discovered some in teresting things about the audience of KQBY— perhaps to Mr. Gordon's liking, perhaps not. Perhaps it woulc have made a difference to time-buy ers, perhaps not. If it would hav perhaps then broadcasters who die not show up so well qualitatively could blame their demise on rating services, and clamor for more quanti tative data, which would be just a; available then — as ample qualitative! data is today. Please, let's have cleai thinking and clearer editing on the subject of ratings. Dr. Sydney Roslon Director Pulse N.Y.C. • We are always happy to hear from our respecMo friend Dr. Roslow but we believe he has misread out editorial. SPONSOR has said for years that it de plored "rating madness"— the over-infatuation by ad vertisers and agencies with mere quantitative numberj Rut we do not question the honesty or accuracy I the rating services themselves. 24 SPONSOR 21 AUGUST 1961 .