Atlanta ahead of Detroit in Arbitron rankings

[kenhawk1160]

Keep Detroit in the Top 10.

The rankings are for MSAs (Metro Survey Areas).
Metro Areas a defined by the Census Bureau and definitions are subject to change, sometimes as a result of political pressure and influence.

Get the Census Bureau (and therefore Arbitron) to include Washtenaw County in the Detroit Metro Area.
Currently it's the Ann Arbor Metro Area (including only Washtenaw County) - Market 147 with 297,100 people 12 or older.
That's more than enough to put Detroit ahead of Atlanta and Washington, making Detroit the number eight market with Detroit radio getting all those extra bucks that go to stations in the top 10 markets.

Check the Ann Arbor ratings.  They mostly listen to Detroit radio anyway.  Based on radio usage, and not all the other factors the Census Bureau uses, it should be in the Detroit market anyway.

The other alternatives are:
Make babies.
Get people to move back.

You may get some broadcasters out there in Ann Arbor fighting to stay OUT of the Detroit Metro Area.  To be lumped in with Detroit would put them at a disadvantage financially.  When Lee Hanson owned his stations in Port Huron (St. Clair County), they too were part of the Detroit Metro.  Lee wanted OUT of Detroit.  The reason?  Because when your stations are lumped in with the other signals downriver, and you don't show up in their book, that's agency money you're not getting.

This is why stations that are in a major market, but are not major market themselves per se, usually struggle financially.  When you're in a non-rated market, then the diaries sent out to listeners in your area aren't lumped in with the adjoining major market. 

This is one reason why a lot of high-powered FM's in that same situation market themselves towards the city, and not the suburbs.  They have to depend on that agency money to survive.  The electric bill alone for a 50kw FM will kill you.

[Oldies Cat]

Agreed.  You then end up a very minor player among the big boys.  It would be like asking AAA Toledo to join the American League Central division and have to compete against the Tigers, Chicago, Minnesota and Cleveland.

[Dave]

I don't know how much longer Chicago will remain the 3rd largest market, for both Arbitron, & Neilson.  The population there has also shifted southward.  Milwaukee went from #32 2 years ago, to #33, and now they're #36. 

[radiofriend1]

chicago has way too big a lead over sf/oakland market to worry about slipping

windy city is almost 2,000,000 bigger than san fran (7.7 million to 5.8 million 12+ pops.)

when u get into smaller populations, for example, milwaukee trails #35 san jose by 3,000 population and only has an 11,000 lead over #33 columbus OH.
ranking shifts are a lot more fluid outside the top 10 or so

[artradioguy]

As a former Big 8 20/20 News staffer I can tell you that Atlanta is growing by leaps and bounds as is Miami. I do morning news in both markets and am amazed at the growth in both cities.  I often think that the old 20/20 news format created by Bill Drake and managed wonderfully by the late Byron Mcgregor (Gary Mack) would be great on some station today but alas, everyone wants credibility not sizzle.

[fred flintstone]

As a former Big 8 20/20 News staffer I can tell you that Atlanta is growing by leaps and bounds as is Miami. I do morning news in both markets and am amazed at the growth in both cities.  I often think that the old 20/20 news format created by Bill Drake and managed wonderfully by the late Byron Mcgregor (Gary Mack) would be great on some station today but alas, everyone wants credibility not sizzle.

"Alas?"  You sound you think credibility is a bad thing.
Don't worry.  Tabloid trash is still alive and well on TV.  Many stations carry an hour of syndicated "sizzle" between 7pm and 8pm.  And then you have Jerry Springer and his ilk during the day. 

20/20 News might do well today.  High school kids and trailer trash were the target demos and they are still around. 

People like you and McGregor thought junk news was "clever" and "creative."  McGregor was a radio whore and he proved it with his patriotic record pandering to the right-wing illiterate and unwashed (Patriotism: The last refuge of scoundrels.)

Radio news is dead.  Most stations do none at all.  In most markets there is one news department plus Metro Networks.  They take some audio clips from TV.  Make some phone calls to get "sound" to go with a press release.  And they do the standard police blotter stories (again based only on police hand-outs and phone sound bites - hardly an objective source).  Nobody looks for news on the radio any more.  Even politicians often don't return phone calls from radio - while they jump through hoops for TV.  So why should some station [EDIT]- pay money even for trash news.

20/20 News was a guilty pleasure when I was 15, sort of like those magazines the store wasn't supposed to let me buy.  It was on a level with the National Enquirer (except the Enquirer actually went out and did reporting - 20/20 News just trashed stuff off the wire).  You sold out at an early age, Art, and you don't even know it - even yet.  This post shows how radio continues to be a whorehouse business.   

[EDIT--inflammatory.]

[trusty]

Atlanta is on the same track as Dallas/Ft. Worth. Neither town has geographical boundaries to impede metro growth, Miami has the ocean (most growth up the coast); Detroit has Canada (most growth westward towards Ann Arbor (Here we go again.)).

[Josh C.]

Yes, but Miami has endless sky to build into.  Have you seen how many cranes populate the skyline today?

[Oldies Cat]

Miami has tremendous limitations.  The Atlantic Ocean on one side, Everglades on the other.  To the north, the sprawl toward West Palm is stunning, to the south it's getting stupid.  And, Miami traffic is THE worst (just named #1 city in America for road rage!).

While Miami continues to grow somewhat, many down there are migrating up to Tampa, Orlando, even Jacksonville.

[Josh C.]

And all those towns will be just as bad as Miami in about 20 years, if not sooner.  Let;s face it: you've gotta love Miami to live there... and a lot of people love Miami!