The Independent Task Force on Television Measurement, a group organized by Nielsen Media Research and New York Congressman Charles Rangel, Wednesday urged the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and
Transportation and the House Commerce Committee to decline legislation that would require new oversight of TV ratings. In letters to the Committees, Task Force Chairwoman Cardiss Collins warned that
the bills would "significantly roll back much of the progress" that the organization and Nielsen have achieved toward more accurately measuring how audiences of color watch television. Under the terms
of the bills introduced by Senator Conrad Burns (R, MT) and Rep. Vito Fossella (R, NY), a television ratings service would have to be fully accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC) - currently a
voluntary industry self-regulatory body - before it could be introduced into a market. Moreover, any existing service that does not have MRC accreditation would have to stop operating. Concerned that
the legislation would seriously limit Nielsen's ability to introduce new and improved measurement systems, the Task Force noted that such systems benefit ethnic networks, stations and advertising
agencies because they better capture the viewing behavior of audiences of color.
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