ARBITRON GIPS COLUMBUS (AS MKT. #188, JUST 1,300 MORE PEOPLE THAN DOTHAN)

[gregg75]

So if the Columbus population is 189,000 (which many feel is low), why does Arbitron count
the metro radio market as 211,500 people?  Phenix City alone has 30,000. I guess anything
outside Columbus and Phenix is not counted.  http://arbitron.com/home/mm001050.asp

Dothan at #190 gets 209,000 people. Just pick up any map and you can see that the Columbus
metro area is much larger than Dothan.

Macon has 91,000 folks, yet they "think" the towns around Macon make their radio market
#157  296,000 people. So we are to believe twice the number of people in Macon live OUTSIDE
Macon as in the city limits?

COLUMBUS GETS SCREWED AGAIN!!!!

[MCMagicCracker]

You're correct, and if I remember correctly, Arbitron has some funky regulations that led to that.  Apparently not enough people commute to Columbus for some of the rural communities to count towards their TSA. 

I'm reciting from memory - check my math.  Fort Benning actually subtracts from Columbus because they have so much on-base housing for people who live and work there.  People drive TO Benning instead of FROM Benning to Columbus. 

Compare that to Macon, which is smaller than Columbus, but has a larger metro because Warner Robbins AFB counts toward their population.  Mind you, Macon has a major interstate that passes through; Columbus has state roads and an interstate spur that was built solely for Fort Benning.

Maybe people are commuting to the smaller communities FROM Columbus.  The way I felt about it when I interviewed for a gig in Macon is thus: Columbus is a city that wants to be a town, and Macon is a town that wants to be a city.

[MCMagicCracker]

For an accurate representation of what the Columbus metro would be, you'd really have to combine Lagrange, Auburn/Opelika and Ft. Benning into one TSA.  WAY bigger than Macon.

[gregg75]

So why is Arbitron only counting Columbus and Phenix City?

How about Dothan? They must put everything south of Montgomery and East of Mobile
into Dothan.........that would have to be about 25 Alabama counties and about 3 in Ga.

[gregg75]

The way I look at it they should at least count Harris county (about 28,000) as most of them commute to Columbus. And Russel County Alabama (there has to be at least 15,000 not inside the Phenix City limits). Cusseta, Ga........has about another 10,000. What has Arbitron done with all those 53,000 folks?........maybe they were shipped to Macon. I think Ft. Benning has another 28,000 also and half of them live in Columbus. 53,000 + 14,000 (those on base) = 67,000 (at least) unaccounted for.

[radiojjh]

According to Arbitron's official map of radio markets and their respective counties---Columbus metro includes Muscogee and Chattahoochee(GA), and Russell(AL), that is a total of 251,237 people.    That should place Columbus at #169--smaller than Hagerstown, Chambersburg, Waynesboro MD-PD, and larger than Amarillo.

I'm now in Spokane and we get screwed too.   We have 2 counties in our metro---Spokane(WA), and Kootenai(ID) and it shows a total population of 602,728.  Yet Arbitron is counting just 526,900.    Spokane is ranked #94, but should be #80.   Smaller than Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle and larger than Baton Rouge.  What is up with Arbitron?!?!?!?

Here is the link for the Arbitron map so you can see it for yourself: 

http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive-Arbitron/Arb_US_Metro_Map_09.pdf

[gregg75]

I couldn't get your link to work. Here's another (loads slowly).

http://www.arbitron.com/downloads/Arb_US_Metro_Map_11.pdf

[radiojjh]

yes---that is the same exact map that will show up either by clicking on my link or yours.....odd the way they don't count the actual population of the counties that ARE a part of the metro.   Wonder wazzup???  Just odd.

[younglee981]

thats because they do the age 12+ population not everyone..PPM does 6+

[MCMagicCracker]

http://www.radio-info.com/news/seven-small-markets-dropped-by-arbitron-begining-with-spring-2012-diary-sur

Macon adds six counties. 

Also, hello J.J. I worked at GSY a few years after you left.  I listened to you on the bus to school!