Minorities and females shut out of media ownership.

[ProSense]

Minorities and females shut out of media ownership.

FCC chair Kevin Martin is currently pushing to allowing a media company to own both a television and a radio station in the same city. The plan is endorsed by billionaires such as Rupert Murdoch, but opposed by the majority of the American public. One of the most troubling consequences of lifting the ban is that it would likely crowd out local and minority voices in the media. A new report by Free Press highlights the disparity:

– “Women comprise 51 percent of the entire U.S. population, but own a total of only 80 stations, or 5.87 percent of all full power commercial television stations.”

– “Minorities comprise 34 percent of the entire U.S. population, but own a total of 43 stations, or 3.15 percent of all full-power commercial television stations.” That percentage decreased between Oct. 2006 and Oct. 2007.

– “Blacks or African Americans comprise 13 percent of the entire U.S. population but only own a total of 8 stations, or 0.6 percent of all stations. … From October 2006 to October 2007 the number of African American-owned full power commercial TV stations decreased by nearly 60 percent.”

– “Hispanics or Latinos comprise 15 percent of the entire U.S. population, but only own a total of 17 stations, or 1.25 percent of all stations.”

American Progress Senior Fellow Mark Lloyd has more.

Why minority-owned media matters By Sens. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., and Barack Obama, D-Ill.

[MadMaddie]

1. This is one of their goals...and if anyone believes otherwise

they are fools.

Disinfranchise minorities of all stripes and especially women.....

[McCamy Taylor]

2. Martin and the Christian Coalition plan to close down minority and women cable channels, too.

The Christian Coalition is not content to use channel filters in their own homes to keep their kids from hearing about birth control, other religions, alternative sexualities, different lifestyle choices. They want to deprive others in America of the opportunity to learn about them from television. Many families---those with low incomes--do not have access to the Internet at home, so cable provides them and their kids the best access to a wide world of ideas. Minority and women and gay themed programming broadens their world view.

While Martin is attempting to give Fox News and Sam Zell unlimited media expansion power, he is trying to take over control of cable from Congress, so that he can force cable to stop offering all basic channels for one price. Instead, he would force cable to offer channels one by one. This would drive almost all "fringe" channels out of business. NewsCorp and political propaganda groups with deep pockets would be able to continue to keep their shows on the air by paying cable to keep a slot available for them. That was how Fox got started in cable. When no one wanted it, Fox paid cable a fee for everyone who signed up for it. So, for instance, the health care industry could pay to keep a channel that is full of their propaganda on the air, even if only a few signed up for it. The oil industry could finance a bogus science channel and pay to keep it on the air and run a bunch of shows about how global warming is hooey. There would be plenty of room for these business propaganda channels, since most of what we have now would go under. All the pesky minority and womens and gay and other alternative channels that the Christian Coaltition objects to would soon find themselves struggling to get money as financially strapped consumers cut back to just MTV, Comedy Central and ESPN.

One solution is to lobby Congress to create the equivalent of a prix fixe, of fixed price menu for cable. Have cable offer a cut rate (say $15-20) basic, basic cable package full of nutritious offerings that would form the equivalent of the BBC or NHK. A package that has all the educational channels, a full spectrum of minority, womens, gays and issues channels, all three CSPANs, history and science channels, PBS, basic TV, some culture stuff like Bravo and the IFC, some kids channels. No religion. Hispanic channels were appropriate. Asian where appropriate.

You would pay extra for sports, premium movies, Comedy Central, MTV. Religion. People who do not like anything on the Prix Fixe do not have to buy it. Low income people can get it subsidized by the government.

This would solve the problem of cable prices and would put a stop to Martin and the Christian Coalition's plan to censor cable in the US.

There is a compelling national interest to have an educated electorate, so this kind of national action is defensible.