In the competitive world of television news, it’s a given that stations need to know as much as possible about their viewers. But a groundbreaking study suggests that ratings and telephone surveys provide a less than complete picture of the audience and its viewing habits. The Middletown Media Studies examined how people really use the media by comparing the results of telephone surveys to diaries and to direct observation of people both at home and away from home. Co-author Bob Papper of Ball State University says one conclusion is inescapable: “If you think you know about your audience by asking them on the phone, you know nothing.”