Over the head of every sponsored radio show hangs a heavy threat: its Hooperating.* If the rating is too low, the sponsor usually cancels the show. Results: 1) new shows, which take time to win an audience, often die aborning; 2) U.S. radio is encouraged to stick to the trite and truistic; 3) the Hooper system has more influence than friends among radio show folk.
Last week Hooperatings got a full blast from Joel Murcott, radio editor of the Hollywood Reporter. Wrote Murcott:
"[Hooper] says that 92,550 homes are called each month [for Hooper's special Coast rating report] on the Pacific web coverage...
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