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Talk of the Bay
Get swept up in dynamic world of TV viewing
By KRIS HUNDLEY
Published May 29, 2006
If you love TV, talking on the phone and a sporadic work schedule, Nielsen Media Research wants you. The Oldsmar ratings giant recruits part-time help just before television's four "sweeps" rating periods. The monthlong job openings crop up every June, November, January and April. Working four- to eight-hour shifts from Nielsen's call center in Dunedin, interviewers get to help "set the agenda for the worlds of entertainment and the Internet,'' the company says. In plain-speak, that means workers place calls to statistically selected households and try to persuade a responsible adult to keep a TV diary for seven days. The viewing data is used to establish a show's rating, which in turn sets advertising rates. So Nielsen's call center workers are really the first link in a chain that leads to billions of dollars in revenue for network executives. Unfortunately, the first link earns only $9 an hour, though extra pay is offered for bilingual capabilities and night work.
[Last modified May 29, 2006, 05:57:24]
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