NAA WEB MEASUREMENT TASK FORCE RELEASES FIRST REPORT

By: Staff Reports Group Compares Various Ratings Companies



Responding to growing concern about the lack of a Web site measurement
standard, the Newspaper Association of America's New Media Federation
released its first report on the subject.



E&P Online recently reported the formation of the task force, which
met in Chicago for the first time in late March. The 12-member group was
assembled by outgoing New Media Federation President Lincoln Millstein,
who serves as executive vice president for New York Times Digital.



The group's first goal is to educate the newspaper industry about the
Web measurement space, says Randy Bennett, NAA vice president,
electronic media and industry development. 'We want to give members some
tools to help them evaluate the numbers,' he says.



To that end, the task force questioned eight research vendors about
their methodology, resulting in tables that compare three categories:
panel-based measurement (like Media Metrix and Nielsen Netratings),
survey-based (like Scarborough), audit-based (like ABCi). Bennett says
the group will likely hire a consultant this summer to further explore
the inherent weaknesses and advantages of the various services.



The group's other main goals are to lobby for better methodology, and to
hold the research firms accountable for their work. The group is even
considering the creation of a new measurement process.



Some newspaper publishers are asking if the near-universal ABC audits of
the print world can be replicated online. The Audit Bureau of
Circulations, based in Schaumburg, Ill., performs online audits through
its ABCi unit, but only seven newspapers have signed up for the service
(along with some dot-com giants like Yahoo! and Lycos).



'The challenge there is that [the Web] is a converged platform,' Bennett
says. 'It's not just about a particular industry; it's newspapers,
magazines, and TV.' In other words, a newspaper-industry standard that
doesn't consider non-newspaper competitors is useless.



What may develop is a hybrid approach where the industry uses metered
panels in consort with survey work, Bennett says.



The task force's initial work is available at:
http://www.digitaledge.org/monthly/2000_06/measurement/

questionstoask.html



Advice for newspapers considering the purchase of audience measurement statistics can be found at:

http://www.digitaledge.org/monthly/2000_06/measurement/

questionstoask.html