Coalition Says Lifting Ban on Media Consolidation Hits Hard on Minority Ownership

Minority-owned media remains “excruciatingly low,” and lifting a ban on companies owning newspapers and television stations in the same market would only make matters worse, civil-rights groups and political leaders argue. On Dec 10, several prominent minority members of the House were among 44 signatories on a letter urging a full study of the impact that lifting the ban might have on minority media ownership.

Among the signers:

• Civil-rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-GA).
• Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO).
• Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-TX).
• Cochairmen of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Reps. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ).

“While local broadcast media remain an important source of information for our constituents, these outlets often do not reflect the diversity of the communities they serve,” the letter said. “Women and people of color historically held very few licenses for radio and television stations, and these numbers remain shockingly low.”