• December 23, 2005

In a year-end notice sent to clients on Thursday, Nielsen Media Research CEO Susan Whiting said the media research company is continuing to work closely with the Media Rating Council on the development of a Voluntary Code of Conduct, and that it expects the code to be "finalized shortly." The code would establish ground rules for media ratings companies to honor in their dealings with the MRC, and its auditing and accreditation process. One of the suggestions has been that ratings companies would not deploy commercial ratings services until they have been accredited, which is something Nielsen circumvented this year when it introduced local people meters in various markets prior to accreditation, which sparked outcries on Madison Avenue and Capitol Hill.