RTV Theory and Practice - Special Issue

Specifically , Soley & Hough examined ownership patterns by reviewing all of the existing black owners and their holdings , the methods blacks were using to acguire stations , anđ the market value of black station purchases, both over time anđ compared to market values of white stations . Data from their study were used to compare black ownership before incentives were introduced to new information collected on stations between 1978 and 1983 as follows ; / sample . The sample consists of all commercial black-owned stations acpuired from 1978 through 1983 which remained black -owneđ throughout this period . It also consists of a sample of 1 out of 14 white owned stations from this same time period . Other minority-owned stations and public radio stations are excluded from the analysis . A valid list of black owned stations was obtained by the National Association of Broadcasters since its definition of minority owned dictates that at ieast 50/ perceht of the owners be members of a minority group. The N.A.B. definition remains the same between 1978 and 1983, unlike the FCC which changed its definition in 1982. FCC station files were then used to double-check the ownership status , purchase price , and listing of all stations . Stations eliminated from this list include educational stations, duplicate listing, and pendmg acguisitions or bankruptcies . The study results thus consist of an analysis of 58 valiđ black-owned stations anđ 185 valid white-owned stations . markets . Markets are defined slightly differently before and after incentives were introduced . Soley & Hough used SRDS Consumer Market Data for market definitions , while đata collected after incentives were introduceđ were categorized by the A.D.I. Market Atlas , used for "sales , programmmg, and promotion planning" (Broadcasting/Cablecastmg, 1985, p.c-134). In spite of the difference in sources , it was thought that market categories correspond closely when based on consumer buying so both were deemed adeguate sources of market information . ownership structure . For purposes of this study, it was thought that a discussion of the number of owners , while not revealing a comprehensive picture , would begiri to illummate the most prevalent kinds of ownership during this time . A useful way to orgamze ownership without bemg too broad or having too few stations in each categorv was to break ownership types mto three categories as f ollows : 1 1 single owners , or one person (a husband/wife team counting as one) ,ownmg a station by him ог herself ,2) a group of owners consisting of more than one owner but less than 10 owners, and 3) corporate owners consistmg of

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