As the decade winds down, we know many of you are taking off for the holidays. The PRPD Board and Staff would like to wish you very HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
May 2010 exceed your wildest expectations! HAPPY NEW YEAR.


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Note: Radio Roulette tops the center column of prpd.org. Clicking the text link below it takes you to a random PRPD member station's website. It's like a "Feel Lucky" button for stations. Since its random it sometimes leads to some gems in design, content or audio - that we would never otherwise discover. Try it!.
As we wade through lists of the "Top Ten of ...", here is a list that looks ahead and gives folks in the media something to consider as the last page of the calendar is about to be ripped off. Mashable created "10 Media Content Trends to Watch in 2010". They include:
The first two Argonauts have been hired by NPR, according to paidcontent.org.
NPR Tuesday announced its popular mobile app is available to Android users. A news release from NPR says that "... makes NPR the first U.S. radio broadcaster to launch an app for Android."
Arbitron is committed to reflecting the increasing trend of CPO households across the U.S., which is why we've moved up the date to increase the number of these households in our samples, said Alton Adams, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President, Arbitron Inc.
Persons who live in CPO households are more likely to be age 18-34. While the CPO sample target was an average of 10 percent of the total (12+) diary sample in Spring 2009 across all markets, it represented approximately 28 percent of the 18-34 in-tab sample. "With this new increase in spring 2010, the percent of 18-34 sample represented by CPO households should be closer to 40 percent," said Dr. Robert F. Henrick, Executive Vice President, Customer Solutions, Arbitron, Inc.
As the first 10 percent of the 21st Century is about to expire, the world is in a reflective mood. If "Best of the Year" lists were not enough, many are issuing "Best of the Decade" assessments.
The new year means a new home for World of Opera.“In the last 18 months, we’ve been working to re-position WDAV as a strong source for original classical music productions from the Carolinas and beyond. This partnership with NPR puts us squarely now in front of a national audience –- a step we welcome."

How to describe the growing competition between Boston pubcasters WGBH and WBUR:On December 2, 2009, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform conducted a hearing entitled "Will Arbitron's Personal People Meter (PPM) Silence Minority-owned Radio Stations?" At the conclusion of this hearing, I gave Arbitron, the MRC, and members of the PPM coalition thirty days to develop a plan of action to address problems associated with the PPM device. I have asked that this plan of action contain not only viable solutions, but also a realistic timetable for addressing the issues raised at the hearing.
I am confident that participants at the hearing, with help from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), can develop a solution that creates accurate ratings for all radio stations, including minority targeted broadcasters. To achieve this, it is critical that all parties, including Arbitron, work together to ensure that the PPM methodology finally meets the high standards set by the Media Ratings Council (MRC). As a first step, all parties should meet as soon as possible to establish a foundation for a sustainable agreement.
It took decades of hard-fought battles to finally create diversity on the airwaves. I will not let this diversity perish overnight because of inaccurate ratings. I am personally committed to working with all parties to resolve this problem expeditiously. Committee staff will be closely following your progress over the next month.
WLFM-FM broadcasts smooth jazz in Chicago, and continues to expand its presence.