Measurements Is Actually About Trust
“In God we trust. All others must bring data.” Edwards Deming, famous statistician
The controversy around media ratings is not a new one. But it simply refuses to die down, not just because of vested interests. But in our basic human flaw : accepting that transparency of any test & measuring mechanism is critical. The frenzy to increase media ad sales and associated pricing basis the media ratings has pushed the ratings to a “me-too” of nefarious one.
The media which is the 4th pillar of a thriving democracy needs to demonstrate basic good behaviour of :
* Accountability for every reporting
* Data governance of every measurement
* Fairness in rating pedagogy
* Integrity & independence of the measuring agency
* Neutrality of the rating platform
* Objectivity in measurement reporting
* Robustness of data captured
* Transparency in the entire process
Are these encoded in current rating framework?
Are these principles even important to the industry stakeholders?
If corporates need corporate governance, don’t media need something that keeps them aboveboard?
A new beginning can be made by having all the stakeholders together and in establishing a non-media stakeholder-led Neutral committee with experts from different sectors to look at this aspect.
It can start by agreeing to disagree on issues, and in addressing the awkward questions that no one wants to ask. Let alone answer!
Dr Annurag Batra has been writing on media for two-plus decades and is the Founder of exchange4media and the Editor-in-Chief of BW Businessworld.
