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.
We 2025 humans don’t focus well, and while it’s easy to blame social media or other options on our smartphones — and that may be true — it is the reality.
I’m sure others can come up with interesting ideas, but the real question is: “What do we want the radio/audio audience measurement system to look like in 2030? In 2035?”
"Happy to report I have landed on my feet. After the demise of CBS Radio and the purge of the entire staff, I have been hired to anchor newscasts at NPR."