Em Rusciano is wrong to say the radio ratings system is archaic and needs to be overhauled, according to Commercial Radio Australia.
However, the industry body has admitted its surveys - conducted using a combination of paper and electronic diaries - will soon get a multimillion dollar makeover to provide "additional insights" into how people are consuming radio in the 21st century.
Rusciano took the radio ratings system to task on Monday, a week after her Sydney breakfast show suffered its worst result to date.
"I think there needs to be a better system than dropping a small amount of books in an area and averaging the numbers of whoever fills them out," she told News Corp. "It doesn't measure how a lot of people consume radio today. I think the radio rating system is archaic and it need to be overhauled. It needs to be addressed."
The Melbourne-based broadcaster said her 2DayFM Sydney show was the "No.1 engaged breakfast radio show" on Facebook and Instagram in all of Australia, but that achievement isn't reflected in the radio ratings survey.
Commercial Radio Australia chief executive Joan Warner defended the radio ratings, arguing they are "robust, consistent and reliable".
"The ratings methodology is rigorous and involves an annual representative sample of more than 70,000 listeners across the five capital city markets, and the results from survey to survey have proven to be robust, consistent and reliable," she said. "The methodology employed in Australia is considered world's best for measurement of radio listening.
"The surveys are undertaken using a combination of paper diaries and e-diaries, which can be completed online and on mobile devices. This is still the most accurate way to measure radio audiences because listening takes place across so many places and devices - at home, in the car and at work."
However Warner did flag that the ratings system could be moving to a "hybrid future" where people continue to fill out paper diaries, but also have other factors such as wearables, apps and streaming data taken into account.
"Our objective is for Australia to develop a world's first radio audience measurement system that uses an enviable suite of tools to provide an holistic view of Australian radio listening," she said. "Electronic measurement can provide additional insights, but it can't replace the diary system as it does not capture all forms of listening. For instance, wearable metres cannot capture listening via headphones."
GfK, the research firm tasked with measuring radio ratings eight times a year, also defended its work. General manager Morten Boyer said the firm has decades of experience measuring radio audiences in Europe.
"This is one of the biggest probability-based research samples in Australia, apart from the census," he said.
