TheBuzz Erika Engle

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Radio survey steps into the Internet age

HAWAII has recorded another first. A 31 year old Honolulu woman was the first person in the country to turn in her weekly eDiary of radio listening to Arbitron Inc., the ratings company.

The woman, who Arbitron did not identify, submitted 11 entries covering seven hours of listening to four stations, which Arbitron also did not name.

All of her listening was done in the car -- not a shock, considering Oahu traffic.

The eDiary was introduced with the current Winter 2007 survey which began Jan. 11 and ends April 4.

On the Net: » www.arbitron.com/downloads/ediary2.jpg

It is an Internet-based alternative to the decades-old paper-and-pencil diary that may be familiar to many Oahu households.

The eDiary option will be offered any time Arbitron calls a household seeking survey participants, who can check out a sample page online.

Arbitron expects that at least one of 20 participants will choose the Internet option and that it could bolster data collection from an under-represented demographic.

In testing, Arbitron found that the largest demographic group of eDiary keepers was between 25 and 34, while the largest demographic group of paper diary keepers was 45 to 54, according to Thom Mocarsky, senior vice president of press and investor relations, in a statement.

In previous decades, the only instrument available for radio listening was a paper diary.

In recent years Arbitron announced development of its trademarked Portable People Meter System, which will replace paper diaries in the top ten U.S. radio markets beginning in 2008. With encoders installed at the station level, the service will replace diary-generated ratings with passive, electronic measurement.

Arbitron plans PPM service for the top 50 markets within the next three years, but Honolulu is market No. 64.

The eDiary is "a parallel initiative that's targeted for those markets that aren't being measured by the PPM," Mocarsky said.