You all know the ratings methods by now – diaries, phone calls and People Meters.

But let’s not forget the Audimeter.
 
The what?
 
The Audimeter. It was invented in the mid-30s and if you ever wondered how they gauged the ratings back when radio was young and broadcasting dramas, comedies and soap operas, this was it.
 
This remarkable article outlines what it was, how it worked and the tale of the tape it told to researchers way back when. I’ve always been a fan of radio history, but I have to admit, I’d never heard of this one before. (And I’m betting there were still lots of stations that simply didn’t believe the results…)

The Weird Machine That Measured Radio Audiences in the '30s and '40s

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