ATTORNEY GEN SUES ARBITRON FOR PRACTICES THAT DRIVE MINORITY BROADCASTERS OUT OF BUSINESS

© 2008 NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL. All rights reserved. ^ | 10/10/08 | Andrew Cuomo

[Behind Liberal Lines]

NEW YORK, NY (October 10, 2008) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that his office has filed a lawsuit in New York County Supreme Court against Arbitron, the largest media ratings company for the radio market in the United States. The lawsuit accuses Arbitron of deceptively claiming that its Portable People Meter (PPM) system is valid, fair, and representative of diverse radio markets. It also charges Arbitron with failing to disclose important flaws in the PPM methodology to broadcasters, advertisers, shareholders and the public, including serious shortcomings in the accuracy of the new system and its inadequate representation of African-Americans and Latinos.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

In other words, the NY Attorney General is forcing a private business to overcount listeners in order to artificially inflate the ratings of "minority" radio stations.

Welcome to Obama's America, folks.

[IncPen]

If you can’t impose a Fairness Doctrine with legislation or agency fiat, there’s always the courts ...

[Vigilanteman]

Wouldn't this be like suing the New York Slimes because it promotes idiot politicians which destroy small businesses? Except that Arbitron publishes actual data rather than propoganda.

Look for more of this s*** under Fuhrer Obama.

[Larry Lucido]

Great. Then when advertising rates soar, we can make subsidized loans to buy the air time, driving the rates up more. I see a cottage industry here.

[Ukiapah Heep]

Pretty scary stuff.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t the “Supreme Court” (whether of an individual state or the Federal one) a “court of appeal” and thus lower court actions must be gone thru and exhausted before a case lands in the SC? IOW, an original action cannot (AFAIK) originate in the SC. Now, maybe it is different if the atty gen’ himself (eg; his office) sues the defendant. Beuller? Beuller? Anyone?

[SkyPilot]

I will get my own radio show now. Blessed be Obama. The Messiah speaks.

[holden]

...and McCain would appoint Andrew Cuomo as SEC chairman!

(First defeat Obama, then thwart McCain's lunacies.)

HF

[AmericanGirlRising]

and McCain says how much he likes A. Cuomo... oh well, like Rush says - let's drag him across the finishline and we'll fix him once we get him there.

[Anti-Bubba182]

The Portable People Meter

This is a Machine! How in hell can it be biased?

I suspect the real problem is that the minority stations are not doing well and they want yet more special protection.

[N3WBI3]

Yea because what NY state needs now is

1) To spend money on pointless lawsuits
2) To make business spend money on pointless law suits

[caseinpoint]

“Someone correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t the “Supreme Court””

It says New York COUNTY Supreme Court. Therefore it is not the State Supreme Court. There are a lot of silly names for courts throughout the country. Here in California we call the major courts in each county Superior Courts. So either New York is free and loose with its terminology or else the reporter got it wrong.

[TommyDale]

When the minority TV stations want to show reruns of “Good Times”, what do they expect?

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t the “Supreme Court” (whether of an individual state or the Federal one) a “court of appeal” and thus lower court actions must be gone thru and exhausted before a case lands in the SC? IOW, an original action cannot (AFAIK) originate in the SC. Now, maybe it is different if the atty gen’ himself (eg; his office) sues the defendant. Beuller? Beuller? Anyone?

In New York, the Supreme Court is the statewide trial court and the Court of Appeals is the highest court.

The weird nomenclature is, I believe, the result of NY's colonial past and the fact that its court system was built bottom up, not top down.

There were "Justice Courts," (town, village and city courts) and "County Courts," where most cases originated. The "Supreme Court" was originally and (to some extent still is) a "circuit court," with statewide trial juridiction (hence being called "Supreme").

[Will88]

Not satisfied with the vital role he played in turning our mortgage industry into a welfare program that has caused the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression, sanctimonious and clueless Andrew Cuomo now sets out to do the same to the radio business.

[caseinpoint]

Forgot to mention that what makes California’s Superior Courts title silly is that there was a reorganization of the courts several years back that wiped out inferior court designations. All courts are now “Superior Courts” (like Keilor’s Lake Wobegon “everyone is above average) but as everyone knows, too many courts in California are anything but “superior”.

[goodnesswins]

Oh, goody.....give radio licenses to people who don’t know how to market/produce radio content.....because....well...they’re disenfranchised (i.e. part of some minority group that the politicians can extort money from.)

[OCC]

This is a Machine! How in hell can it be biased?

I'm sure there is a Diebold connection somewhere :0)

[AmericanGirlRising]

Oh, goody.....give radio licenses to people who don’t know how to market/produce radio content.....because....well...they’re disenfranchised (i.e. part of some minority group that the politicians can extort money from.) didn't you just describe air america?

[Islander7]

Geez! Affirmative action radio. Just what we need.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Thanks very much, I appreciate your clarification. Other than NY, is my characterization generally true? If you know. TIA!

[Iron Munro]

Government at all levels in all jurisdictions is out of control.

They have confused the pursuit of political agendas and political correctness with good governance and law enforcement.

This kind of action is related to the massive problems we are now facing:

The destruction of the free market economy

Creeping socialism

Failure to enforce our laws because of social “feelings”

Massive voter fraud

Massive illegal financial contributions to candidates

Massive influence peddling and payoffs by and to elected officials

Raiding the treasury to pay off the lenders who were forced by racist politicians to give loans to unqualified borrowers.

It all stems from the same misguided motivations, abuse of power by arrogant politicians and bureaucrats.

Both parties are culpable.

It is time to clean house from top to bottom and restore government to its intended function of serving the will of the people instead of imposing its will on the people.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

I believe that most courts call the high court, or appeals court, the Supreme Court, yes. NY is an anomoly.

[Harrius Magnus]

ORDINANCE OF SECESSION

December 20, 1860
Vote of Convention: Unanimous

At a convention of the people of the State of South Carolina, begun and holden at Columbia on the 17th day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty, and thence continued by adjournment to Charleston, and there, by divers adjournments, to the 20th day of December in the same year:

An Ordinance to dissolve the union between the State of South Carolina and other States united with her under the compact entitled The Constitution of the United States of America.

We, the people of the State of South Carolina, in convention assembled, do declare and ordain, and it is hereby declared and ordained, That the ordinance adopted by us in convention on the twenty-third day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, whereby the Constitution of the United States of America was ratified, and also all acts and parts of acts of the General Assembly of this State ratifying amendments of the said Constitution, are hereby repealed; and that the union now subsisting between South Carolina and other States, under the name of the “United States of America,” is hereby dissolved. Done at Charleston the 20th day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty. D.F. Jamison: Delegate from Barnwell and President of the Convention, and others.

Attest: Benjamin F. Arthur, Clerk of the Convention.

[day10]

Oh, goody.....give radio licenses to people who don’t know how to market/produce radio content.....because....well...they’re disenfranchised (i.e. part of some minority group that the politicians can extort money from.)

didn't you just describe air america?


Excellent post! Excellent! Top notch!