Dorothy Brush "Random Thoughts" Published Dec. 3, 2003

Being a Nielson Family a big responsibility

Each time we hear about a poll or survey most of us react with skepticism. We reason that we have never been called for an opinion. I can never say that again because a call finally came. First a plain post card arrived in the mailbox with the message, "It is my pleasure to tell you that your household has been chosen to be a Nielsen Family for a one week survey." It continued that they would be telephoning me soon.

When the call came I agreed to take part because I knew they were a well established group and I had found their reports of interest. The caller asked how many TV sets were in our home and then gave me the dates for the week I would be keeping track of the programs we watched.

Shortly after that another post card arrived advising me the DIARY I was to keep would arrive soon. Two diaries, one for each TV, arrived several days before the date I was to begin marking the information asked for in the diary. One column was for the male head of household and one for the female head of household. Another group of columns were for the other members of the family and even one for visitors. The ages of the viewers was asked. Another column was to be marked if the TV was on but no one was watching/listening.

They asked if the TV was connected to a cable service or a satellite dish and if it received any channels offered for an extra monthly fee. Finally, was the set connected to a VCR. If so the programs recorded were to be noted. There was a page for morning, afternoon and evening of each day broken down into quarter-hours. On the same line there was space for the station name, channel number and name of program. Another post card arrived reminding me of the date I was to start using the diary.

An information sheet was enclosed with the diaries giving a brief history of Nielsen Media Research, Inc., sometimes called Nielsen TV ratings. Established in 1950 they gather information about the television viewing of adults, teenagers and children across the USA. A sample of homes in a community is carefully selected. Results from the returned diaries are tabulated and used to report the number of homes that watch TV and what they are watching. From these ratings the TV industry has a gauge to determine their programming.

All the information is strictly confidential and it was stressed no one was trying to sell anything. Even in a home where TV is seldom watched every home is important and the only way to get a representative sample.

One more postcard reminded me the week was almost over. That was followed by a phone call stressing the same information and telling me to be sure I dropped the postage paid diaries in the mail on the day after the six days of entries. That day after I finished happened to be Thanksgiving Day so since the post office does not work on that holiday my returns were postmarked a day late.

My six days keeping track of our homes' television habits cost them four post cards, two long-distance telephone calls and first class postage for two diaries to be sent and returned plus a token dollar for my time. Now you know how Nielsen TV ratings are done.

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Dorothy Copus Brush is a Fairfield Glade resident and Crossville Chronicle staffwriter whose column is published each Wednesday.