» CBS Radio Cuts Workforce: Word began leaking out late Friday afternoon of significant cutbacks at several of the company's stations including Los Angeles all-newsers KNX and KFWB. Reportedly o-u-t in the latest round of layoffs are, at least three news anchors along with reporters, producers and other staffers at both stations. KFWB's SoCal news bureaus in Orange County and Long Beach have also reportedly been shuttered as part of the budgetary cutbacks. To no surprise, when contacted by NTS Aircheck Today local management at the stations' did not comment, but among those we've heard have left the building are Michael Linder, Vicki Cox, Laura Ornest, Jerry Mulvaney Lori Kelman, Jennifer Bauman, Larry Carrol, John Dardin, Lonny Lardner, Dirk Morgan and Sharon Katchen. No matter how you look at it, a tough day during tough times for all involved.

» As Goes New York, So Goes New Jersey: Looking to not be overshadowed by its neighbor, the Attorney General of the Garden State has joined NY AG Andrew Cuomo and filed a lawsuit against Arbitron to prevent the company from deploying and using its PPM audience measurement system. In response Arbitron has asked the U.S. District Court for New Jersey for a declaratory judgement and injunctive relief to prevent any attempt to restrain the ratings company from publication of its PPM listening estimates. The NJ AG's suit claims Arbitron has engaged in consumer fraud and violated civil rights laws relating to the marketing and commercialization of the PPM radio ratings service. Commenting on the suit and countersuit Arbitron President/CEO Steve Morris said, "We are asking the United States District Court to uphold our First Amendment rights and to prevent the New Jersey Attorney General from attempting to restrain publication of our Portable People Meter listening estimates."

» Is PPM Programmed By Trilateral Commission? That's the tongue-in-cheek question from Westwood One syndicated talker Jim Bohannon regarding the charges and lawsuits filed against Arbitron by the AG's of New York and New Jersey. "Let me get this straight," says Bohannon. "People Meters measure what radio signals are audible around one of their devices. Are the Andrew Cuomo's of the world suggesting that these devices have been programmed by the Trilateral Commission to not register anyone speaking in dialect or with an accent, or playing certain types of music? Or are they sucking up to certain special interest groups which can deliver them votes? And when will they start defending every format which takes a PPM hit because their listeners distort diaries. Country stations, for example, whose listeners probably don't tend toward the Democratic party?"

» On The Flip Side: In last Friday's NTS Aircheck Weekly media researcher Mark Ramsey suggests it's wouldn't be in Arbitron's best interest to "foist upon the industry a measurement system that is crap," but Joint Communications President John Parikhal begs to differ. "Arbitron already did this once when they foisted the incredibly unreliable diary system on radio, so why should we assume it is any better this time?" Parikhal says his real issues with PPM, are that "samples are small, people don't like carrying that clunky box around, Arbitron has been allowed to define what a 'reasonable' sample size is and broadcasters dragged their feet because they didn't want to pay more for a 'better' service. So, radio is stuck with a system that still has a lot of 'crap' in it. Diaries were bad and PPM is not yet 'better' -- although it has the potential to be. To simply assume Arbitron will improve things without serious pressure is naive. If radio is serious about measurement it needs to be prepared to keep up the pressure on Arbitron and pay the tab for a better system -- when it is better."

» Clue, Or Just "Bro-mance?" On last Thursday's edition of his ABC Radio Networks/Premiere Radio Networks syndicated show, Sean Hannity offered a glowing and downright gushing tribute to "one of my best friends," just-departed WABC/New York PD Phil Boyce. Hannity called Boyce "an inspiration" and credited Boyce with talking him into launching a national radio show back in 2001. "Phil is a large, huge part of the success of the Sean Hannity Show and the Mark Levin Show," said Hannity. "There's no better programmer in radio than Phil Boyce, and on a personal level, no greater friend." So, was Hannity offering a hint about ongoing industry speculation as to Boyce's next move when he said, "I know the future is bright for him, because I know his future. We'll miss seeing you everyday, but we'll be in touch every day as we always have been."

» "This Is An Extraordinary Time: So says Dial-Global talk host Clark Howard about the "unprecedented" worldwide economic tsunami of the past couple of weeks. "In 20 years of radio I haven't seen such concern, even panic, about the economy," said Howard. Recently Howard has been appearing at live events around Atlanta in conjunction with hometown flagship WSB/Atlanta's Dump Your Debt tour, helping listeners make sense of the current financial and economic woes. "The election will be over in a month, but our economic woes are ongoing," says WSB PD Peter Spriggs about the appearances by Howard. "Clark's delivering vital information to listeners." As have a number of other money-oriented radio talkers, Howard's also become a familiar face in recent days with numerous appearances on cable news outlets CNN and CNN International.