In this letter to the editor the author responds to the commentary “What’s Next for Public Radio?” Radio World welcomes letters to the editor on this or any story. Email [email protected].
Hello,
I would like to clarify a point made in the op-ed “What’s Next for Public Radio,” by Jerry Del Colliano: The Radio Research Consortium is not a recipient of grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The RRC is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit organization, approved and contracted by Nielsen as a sublicensor of Nielsen audience estimates.
Through our partnership with Nielsen, the RRC purchases audience data on behalf of non-commercial radio stations (including public, religious and community stations), and that purchase is supported by stations and entities that sublicense the data. No grants are involved in funding the RRC.
The RRC believes in the importance of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) because of the vital support it provides public and community radio stations, particularly rural stations, and Tribal, Hispanic and Black-owned stations. Our advocacy for the continued funding of the CPB has always been on behalf of our partner stations and the entire non-commercial radio ecosystem, not for ourselves.
Further, the RRC operates in a highly fiscally-responsible manner and is well-positioned to continue delivering Nielsen audience estimates to our subscribing partner stations for the foreseeable future … data which we believe is crucial to helping stations navigate the new reality in which they find themselves following the passage of the rescission package.
We are (and have been) working diligently to enhance our training and consultation offerings so that every partner station feels well-informed about their audience and understands how to use their data to increase revenue, refine marketing and programming strategies and deepen audience engagement.
Our mission is to help our partner stations fulfill their missions, and that commitment will guide our efforts well into the future.
Sincerely,
— Molly Davis, president and CEO, Radio Research Consortium
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