Minority Ownership Stays Flat

A study by Professor Catherine Sandoval of the Santa Clara University School of Law -- partnering with SCU School of Law Professor Allen Hammond and Minority Media and Telecommunications Council Executive Director David Honig -- found that minority radio ownership has remained virtually flat over the past two years: A 2007 Free Press report found that 812, or 7.76 percent, of 10,506 licensed commercial stations were minority-owned, while the new report, as of mid-2009, found that 815, or 7.24 percent, of 11,249 stations were minority-owned. The new study looked at records from the Federal Communications Commission's Consolidated Database System and at Internet sources on ownership and formats to analyze the effect of FCC policies on minority ownership, program diversification, and public service. The study found that 324 different minority owners control the 815 full-power stations, with 139 of those Hispanic and 129 African American. Sixty-one percent of those owners own a single station. About three-quarters of the minority-owned stations air minority-oriented formats -- a Spanish format, Urban, Urban News, Asian, Ethnic, or minority-targeted religious formats such as Gospel or Spanish Christian.