Washington - New York Attorney General Mario Cuomo and New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram announced this week settlement agreements to resolve lawsuits filed against Arbitron in October 2008 for its use of the Portable People Meter (PPM) ratings system, despite being denied proper accreditation by local regulatory agencies and evidence of its adverse effect on minority broadcasters. The settlements require Arbitron to fix its flawed data gathering methodology and allows for ongoing oversight by the Attorney Generals to make sure the company fulfills the terms of the agreement.

While U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) was pleased with this announcement, he once again urged the Federal Communications Comission to take an active role in ensuring an accurate and fair methodology is used to gather ratings data. In early December 2008, Senator Robert Menendez and Senator Ken Salazar, Chairmen of the Senate Hispanic Task Force and strong advocates on media diversity, sent a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin to encourage the FCC to launch a formal investigation into Arbitron's commercialization of PPM.

PDF of Letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin:http://menendez.senate.gov/pdf/12032008ArbitronLetter.pdf

"This is confirmation that our concerns regarding PPM and its negative impact on minority broadcasters are well founded." said Senator Menendez. "Minority-focused stations not only provide news and entertainment, they can deliver critical emergency information that communities depend on. 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. However, I continue to insist that the FCC launch a formal inquiry into Arbitron's implementation of this system and make sure it utilizes a suitable data measurement system."

Both of these cases set a very important precedent that other jurisdictions throughout the country can follow. However, Senator Menendez underscored the importance of federal action to have an effect nationwide.

"While the New York and New Jersey's attorney general decisions are important and unprecedented, we can't wait and 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." said Senator Menendez.

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