The Dismal State of Female and Minority Ownership

[WhiskeyRobber]

From:

Off The Dial: Female and Minority Radio Station Ownership in the United States

How FCC Policy and Media Consolidation Diminished Diversity
on the Public Airwaves

Review of Current Status and Comparative Statistical Analysis​

The results of this study reveal a dismally low level of female and minority ownership of radio stations
in America that has left two-thirds of the U.S. population with few stations representing their
communities or serving their needs.

Women own just 6 percent of all full-power commercial broadcast radio stations, even though
they comprise 51 percent of the U.S. population.

Racial or ethnic minorities own just 7.7 percent of all full-power commercial broadcast radio
stations, though they account for 33 percent of the U.S. population.

Latinos own just 2.9 percent of all U.S. full-power commercial broadcast radio stations,
but they comprise 15 percent of the U.S. population and are the nation’s largest ethnic
minority group.

African-Americans own only 3.4 percent of this country’s full-power commercial
broadcast radio stations, but account for 13 percent of the entire U.S. population.

People of Asian descent own less than 1 percent of full-power commercial broadcast
radio stations, though they make up 4 percent of the U.S. population.

Non-Hispanic white owners control 87.2 percent of the full-power commercial
broadcast radio stations operating in the United States.

To read more:

http://www.freepress.net/docs/off_the_dial.pdf

 

[rapking]

Thank 4 nothing ,3k's act of 1996 .

 

[JbeJay]

How FCC Policy and Media Consolidation Diminished Diversity on the Public Airwaves
Review of Current Status and Comparative Statistical Analysis

The results of this study reveal a dismally low level of female and minority ownership of radio stations
in America ...

Two questions (from someone who has seen far too many of these studies and is therefore too lazy to go to the source, but who figures that anybody citing it should know something about it):

1. Who did the study, and what is their point of view?

2. How does the study define "ownership"? That is, if a publicly traded company owns a station, if its CEO is a man, and if 51% of its stock is held by women, is that a male-owned or a female-owned company by this study's definition? Or let's say that its CEO is a black man but 85% of its stock is held by non-blacks; is that a black-owned company or not?

It matters.