Radio One drama , PPM , syndication
Staff Writer
2008-09-28
.bugnews.bloggieblog.com .
Russ Parr is along time radio host. Russ has been in the radio business for over 10 years. Over 10 years in the entertainment industry is like a life time. Parr's career is a good success story but all things must come to an end. Parr is a syndicated radio host but mostly on the east coast and in the mid west and , he is mostly an urban format.
The word on the street is Ricky Smiley has taken Russ Parr's spot in morning in Motown aka Detroit. Smiley is best known as a comic but, lately, Radio One has made in investment in him too. Smiley is syndicated too and ,he mostly broadcast out of Texas. Smiley allegedly has a two million dollar salary and Parr maybe be under a million. Smiley syndication has grown. Although Parr has lost some affiliates due to his activism, this may not be the case this time.
The other side of this story is the drama. This drama has caused urban broadcaster in New York and New Jersey to hold hearings. This drama has a name and , it is name is PPM. Portable People Meter is the proper name. This tool is used to help measure a radio stations' audience. This tool has a lot of radio host in the urban market afraid. If a radio host has not heard of it, they need to be gone anyway.
This is how PPM works. Aribitron gives a random sample a little electronic device. This device picks up the binary signal from the participating radio station. While the random sample person wears the device, the device keeps track of the stations listened to and for how long.
Sounds good in theory but, in practice this is how it works. Say you are at work and, you are sitting by someone that has a radio . The stations gets counted even if it is not your station of choice. Say, if you are every where and, you are listening to a station but not of your choice, it gets counted. This product works but , it does not reflect your listening choice . It reflects what you are subject too.
Now back to Smiley and Parr, Radio stations make their money off ads and, if a format or person is not going to help make a profit, it may not be in the best interest of the station for the host to continue broadcast. If a format change dose not work, the stations either moves the host or lets them go. For some reason, Smiley maybe a better fit for Motown. The future will tell if Smiley takes over all Parr's morning show spots.
Rickey Smiley
Russ Parr
