Free Press: Diversity Study Useless As Policy Guide

Media consolidation foe Free Press is no fan of the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council diversity study.

The FCC delayed action on any media ownership rules until MMTC could complete, and the public could comment on, the study of the impact of the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership rule on media diversity. The conclusion of the BIA/Kelsey study: "The impact of cross-media ownership on minority and women broadcast ownership is probably negligible." Free Press's conclusion, according its public comment: The study is filled with "glaring" problems that make it "utterly useless" as a basis for making policy. Those problems include inadequately describing its sample, not separating out TV and radio station owners or distinguishing between impacts on women from those on minorities and not providing details on the claimed peer reviews, among other alleged failings.