One of the radio industry’s most respected researchers, Dr. Ed Cohen writes a weekly business column, heavily focused on ratings research for Barrett Media. His career experiences include serving as VP of Ratings and Research at Cumulus Media, occupying the role of VP of Measurement Innovation at Nielsen Audio, and its predecessor Arbitron. While with Arbitron, Cohen spent five years as the company's President of Research Policy and Communication, and eight years as VP of Domestic Radio Research. Dr. Ed has also held the title of Vice President of Research for iHeartMedia/Clear Channel, and held research positions for the National Association of Broadcasters and Birch/Scarborough Research. He is adjunct faculty in the Department of Broadcast Communications at Western Kentucky University and welcomes your thoughts. Reach him by email at doctoredresearch@gmail.com.
There are some very good academics in our universities who could offer new thoughts and ideas. But in my view, the business folks and the teachers don't spend enough time together.
You're probably thinking, "Ed, why should I care about all that, especially after a holiday weekend?" Both the Quadrennial Report and the Communications Marketplace Report are due this year. It matters because these reports become the basis for changing the media ownership rules.
We are living through a media revolution, and if anyone claims to know where things are going, be sure to check back in a few years and see how far their projections were from reality.