Arbitron says Michael Skarzynski CEO made false statements to Congress

Arbitron: CEO made false statements to Congress

NEW YORK — Arbitron Inc., a major supplier of radio ratings information to advertisers, revealed Tuesday that its CEO stepped down this week because of false statements he gave to a congressional committee.

The company said Michael Skarzynski, who resigned Monday, told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee last month that he had participated in a home visit to Arbitron panelists in November. While company officials did make the visit, Arbitron said Skarzynski did not attend.

The House committee has been looking into whether Arbitron’s new method of tracking radio audiences, the Portable People Meter, undercounts minorities, an issue that has sparked lawsuits in at least three states.

Arbitron’s stock closed down $2.55, or 9.6 percent, to $24.15.

“Honesty and integrity are the cornerstones of Arbitron’s values, and we take any acts inconsistent with these values very seriously,” Sean Creamer, Arbitron’s chief financial officer said on a conference call Tuesday. “Accordingly, Michael submitted his resignation.”

Contact information for Skarzynski could not be obtained.

Rep. Edolphus Towns, who chairs the government reform committee, released a statement saying he intends to look into Skarzynski’s testimony “to determine whether the Committee was intentionally misled and whether further action is warranted.”

Skarzynski, a 53-year-old former software company executive, was tapped as CEO at Arbitron about a year ago, succeeding Stephen B. Morris.

On Thursday, the company said he will be replaced by Bill Kerr, who led the magazine and broadcast company Meredith Corp. for about a decade until 2006. Kerr still serves as Meredith’s chairman, but said he has asked the company to find a replacement.

Though Arbitron has settled lawsuits from attorneys general in New York and New Jersey over the People Meter, Kerr takes over as the company is still struggling to overcome public criticism of its methodology.

During last month’s committee meeting, Towns accused the ratings system of helping to create a “perfect storm” for minority-owned stations that now face both a recession and lower ratings.

Arbitron’s audience figures are crucial. The smaller the audience, the fewer the advertising dollars a station can attract.

The company argues the new method is more accurate than the old paper diaries it still uses in some markets to track listener habits.

The new system uses devices that resemble pagers to pick up on what radio stations people listen to. Arbitron launched the People Meter in 2007 and has expanded to 33 markets around the country. It expects to cover 49 by the end of 2010.

But the company has yet to win broad approval from the Media Ratings Council, a private accrediting body. This week the group accredited the system’s use in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market, bringing the total accredited markets to just three.