WFSB chairman named interim Arbitron CEO

The chairman of the company that owns WFSB Channel 3 in Rocky Hill has been named interim chief executive of Arbitron Inc. following the resignation of its CEO for falsely testifying before Congress.

Arbitron board member Bill Kerr, chairman of Des Moines, Iowa, magazine and broadcast company Meredith Corp., WFSB's owner, will run Arbitron until a successor is found for Michael Skarzynski.

Arbitron, a major supplier of radio ratings information to advertisers, revealed Tuesday that Skarzynski stepped down this week because of false statements he gave to a congressional committee.

Skarzynski told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee last month that he had participated in a home visit to Arbitron panelists in November. While company officials did make the visit, Arbitron said Skarzynski did not attend.

The House committee has been looking into whether Arbitron's new method of tracking radio audiences, the Portable People Meter, undercounts minorities, an issue that has sparked lawsuits in at least three states.

"Honesty and integrity are the cornerstones of Arbitron's values, and we take any acts inconsistent with these values very seriously," Sean Creamer, Arbitron's chief financial officer said on a conference call Tuesday. "Accordingly, Michael submitted his resignation."

Contact information for Skarzynski could not be obtained.

Rep. Edolphus Towns, who chairs the government reform committee, released a statement saying he intends to look into Skarzynski's testimony "to determine whether the Committee was intentionally misled and whether further action is warranted."

Skarzynski, a 53-year-old former software company executive, was tapped as CEO at Arbitron about a year ago, succeeding Stephen B. Morris.

Though Arbitron has settled lawsuits from attorneys general in New York and New Jersey over the People Meter, Kerr takes over as the company is still struggling to overcome public criticism of its methodology. (AP)