[mikequinlan]

I got a diary from Nielson for radio stations I listened to. I never listen to radio so I entered the stations and programs I wanted to be successful, rather than the ones I was listening to (since I wasn't listening to any of them). (so NPR and the local public radio station got a little boost).

[RF_Enthusiast]

Yeah, there was a lot of "vote for your favorite station" activity when the Arbitron/Nielson diary was used as the main system.

I was working at a station when they switched from diary to the electronic PPM system. The station's cumulative numbers jumped 3-fold that month-- we had no idea that many people were listening.