The Lack of Racial and Gender Diversity in Broadcast Ownership & the Effects of FCC Policy

Download or read book The Lack of Racial and Gender Diversity in Broadcast Ownership & the Effects of FCC Policy written by Derek Turner and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Just three years after the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected sweeping policy changes that would have dramatically altered our nation's media landscape, the Federal Communications Commission is once again considering eliminating longstanding limits on media ownership. These changes could have a tremendous negative impact, especially on broadcast outlets owned by women and minorities. In its landmark Prometheus v. FCC decision, the Third Circuit chastised the FCC for ignoring the issue of female and minority ownership. But since then, the FCC has done very little to address the issue. The FCC has abdicated its responsibility to monitor and foster increased minority and female broadcast ownership. In fact, the Commission cannot even account for the current state of female and minority ownership in this country. This study provides the first complete assessment and analysis of female and minority ownership of full-power commercial broadcast radio and television stations operating in the United States. Because this study represents the first ever complete assessment of all licensed commercial broadcast stations, it cannot and should not be compared with previous reports from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) or summaries produced by the FCC. All previous efforts by these agencies left out significant numbers of minority owners (and female owners, in the FCC's case). Likewise, previous academic and other studies using these flawed data are inaccurate or incomplete. The study shows that media consolidation is one of the key factors keeping female and minority station ownership at low levels. As consolidation cuts back the already limited number of stations available, women and people of color have fewer chances to become media owners and promote diverse programming. The results of this study reveal a dismally low level of female and minority ownership of radio and television stations in America that has left two-thirds of the U.S. population with few stations representing their communities or serving their needs.