RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

Julia D . Portale ,

Annanberg School of Communications ,

Philadelphia

BLACK OWNERSНIР OF RADIO STATIONS IN THE U.S.: AN EVALUATION OF GROWTH FOLLOWING THE INTRODUCTION OF INCENTIVES, 1978-1983

I INTRODUCTION In recent years a great deal of time and топеу have been invested trying to increase minority ovvnership in the U.S. broadcasting industry . The reasons for this investment range from the thought that the Federal Communication Commission's policy of encouraging broadcasters to operate in the "public interest, convenience, and necessity" would best be fulfilled by minorities owning stations anđ maKing programming decisions that serve minority interests , to the argument that minorities should be brought into the economic mainstream of American society , including participation in the broadcasting industry . This study addresses the latter concern by examining blacks' acguisition of radio stations from 1978 through 1983 in an attempt to understand the use of incentive programs initiated by the federai government and private groups in the late 19 70's. The study compares black ownership to overall ownership before and after the introduction of incentives through use of data from a 1978 stuđy by Lawrence Soley and George Hough 111 before incentives were introduced, and data collected specifically for this study to examine changes after the mtroduction of incentives . To date , there has been little research in the area of black ownership of broadcas't properties in the U.S. , whether it be stuđies of black ownership patterns over time , or of black ownership as a function of regulatory policy , incentive programs, or compared to non-black ownership . The F.C.C. asserts that minority ownership is important because it will "result in programming reflecting the needs and interests, of mmority groups" (73 FCC 2d 4 57, 1979). "Unless minorities are encouraged to enter the mamstream of the commercial broađcasting busmess , a substantial portion of our citizenry will remain underserveđ" (FCC 17 Мау , 1978). While these purposes are not necessarily served by merely expandmg ownership , the premise is accepted that mmority

215