In the spring of 2023, Nielsen Audio announced that one of the traditions of the radio business — reviewing radio diaries — would be available to subscribers online. Make whatever jokes you like about Nielsen finally moving into the Internet Age, it’s still a step forward.
Since the announcement, I haven’t seen any trade press where someone tried using the system. I’ve reviewed far too many diaries over the years (my first review was on the 9th floor of the old Arbitron building in Laurel, MD…for those of you who know your Arbitron history, that was before the Pat Duggan era), so on behalf of the readers of this column, I looked at a few more using the virtual system.
If you are a program director, operations manager, or a market manager in a diary market and you subscribe to Nielsen, you need to do a diary review at least once in your career. Yes, PD Advantage can show you how diarykeepers’ entries were credited post-editing, but nothing beats seeing the real thing. And now you don’t have to waste time and money schlepping to Columbia, Maryland, sitting in a small room with no windows, and staring at a monitor all day. Doing the review from the comfort of your office or home is a huge plus even if Nielsen will not buy lunch for virtual reviewers.
The software that handles diary reviews is ancient by software standards. The Electronic Diary System Retrieval (EDSR) was implemented in 1995 (before EDSR, you perused the actual diaries) and has been updated occasionally. Converting EDSR to an online version was trickier than you might expect and this being Nielsen, designing an entirely new system for something with no revenue attached was not an option.
If you have never used EDSR, it’s incredibly flexible. You can pull diaries and review them in just about any combination you wish. Core demo is women 32-48? No problem. Only want to see those who listened to a competitor and work 35+ hours per week? You got it. Reviewers can check out ascription situations, modeling (there’s a small bit), and internet listening.
Here’s a screenshot (Albuquerque was the market).
Another wonderful aspect of EDSR is the tally system. How did your stations do week by week? It’s there. How much satellite listening takes place in your market by demo? Yep.
Ideally, you could access the data anytime. You can just imagine the bedroom conversations: “Honey, why aren’t you sleeping?” “I’m reviewing Nielsen diaries…I just can’t stop.” Call it ratings porn.
The reality is not exactly that. Much like visiting Columbia to do a review in person, you need to set up an appointment. Your Nielsen rep can handle it or get in touch with Karen Gavigan at Nielsen. I’ve worked with Karen and she’s incredibly knowledgeable about all the Nielsen edit rules. If there is anyone who knows exactly how every diary entry is treated once the diary arrives at Nielsen, she’s the one. Some years ago, I had her present an overview of the system to all the Cumulus diary market PDs and OMs and she did a great job.
When the day arrives for your virtual diary review, Karen will first send you a document explaining how to get online with the system along with an ID and password. While it takes more steps than you might like to get into the system, it worked for me on the first try. She’ll also get online with you via video to show you how EDSR works if you haven’t used it before.
Invariably, questions arise during a diary review. The system allows you to mark diaries and enter your questions or concerns. Typically, you save these up to review with Karen later in the day. With the virtual system, you’ll go through issues by phone or on video with Karen after your session, and any that can’t be answered initially will go for further review. Expect a letter a couple of weeks later that will contain explanations, some of which you’ll likely find disagreeable.
There’s good news and bad news about virtual diary reviews. The good news? The virtual system is free for the moment as Nielsen considers it to be in “trial mode”. The bad news is the company may start charging for it. Personally, I don’t believe diary reviews should have a price as this is part of the overall service. It’s fine to restrict reviews to subscribers, but for the price being paid, charging for a review seems like nickel and diming.
When I was operations manager of WSPA-FM in Spartanburg, South Carolina many years ago, I used to fly in for reviews on a regular basis. One time, a research person from our rep firm (McGavren-Guild, remember them?) came along. After a long day of staring at diaries filled out by the fine people of upstate South Carolina, she simply couldn’t believe that our business rested on some of the crazy entries she had seen. I don’t remember her name, but I’ll bet she changed jobs and left the radio business soon after.
If you haven’t reviewed diaries before, it will be an eye-opener, and you’ll learn a great deal. Schedule your virtual review now and when the date is set, block everything else from your calendar. Focus on the review, print the tallies, take some screenshots, and learn. Note anything you aren’t clear on, save your questions for Karen, and when it’s over, stop by a bar for a cold one or two. You’ll need a drink, but you’ll be wiser for the experience.
Let’s meet again next week.
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