Id like to share a few thoughts about the state of minority owned radio and the media these days, how we got here, and how I think it can be improved upon. Son, If you dont own it, you cant control it These words we once spoken to me in 1984 from the man who gave me my first paying job in radio, the late Bishop L.E. Willis, who at the time had hired me to work as a part time radio DJ at WPCE-AM and WOWI-FM Radio stations in Norfolk, VA, which were two Gospel and R&B formatted stations that he and his company owned in Norfolk. He later went on to own several more stations in other parts of VA, NC, and SC. All of his stations served the black communities in their respective areas. (Clear Channel Communications would later buy out his company after his death). I was a sophomore at Hampton University at the time, majoring in Mass Media communications. I was so thrilled and eager to get into radio, I was so happy to have my first job in the business ! Little did I know at the time just how much truth was in that statement that he made to me, especially when it comes to minority ownership and the radio and broadcasting industry in general. Fast forward 30 years and after on air radio stints in several cities, most notably in Cleveland, Washington, DC, and San Antonio Im still in the radio business and his words have remained true. These days I own my own online radio station, 1067thebridge. I have found that those early lessons stuck with me throughout the years and it greatly shaped how I chose to develop my career. Since the deregulation of radio by the FCC in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, Ive seen many Gospel and R&B radio stations, which were originally mostly owned by small minority owned companies, get bought out and sold to large corporate firms. Corporations have large monopolies in most of the cities throughout the country. Presently there are hardly any minority owners left in broadcasting. Fewer still nowadays are there minorities in programming and decision making positions. Most stations today that cater to minority audiences are now owned by large corporations controlled by white males with very little minority input beyond a few in on air talent positions. network television is even worse for minority ownership. BET, the first minority owned nationwide TV network has been sold and is now corporately owned. Only OWN, the network owned by Oprah Winfrey, and TV One remain as black owned television station networks. In radio fewer minorities are still calling the shots as to how formats will be programmed and presented. Most radio formats for R&B radio is in a cookie-cutter format that lends little room for creativity in most markets. Radio sounds the same and its mostly driven by promoters and sales departments whose only real concern is to make it profitable. Radio One is the only minority owned company left that has control of more than five radio stations nationwide. Clear Channel, Cox Radio, Infinity, and a few other corporations now own the lions share of black radio stations. Many stations have had their formats flipped to focus on younger audiences that prefer Hip Hop music while other stations have totally changed formats seeking to find larger revenue streams in various markets around the country. Most cities now only have one black radio station and in the last five years, several of the largest cities dont even have stations with R&B and /or Gospel formats anymore. Even in New York City, the nations largest city, there is only one R&B station, 107.5 WBLS. Recently a new competitor has emerged, which is owned by a large corporation, whose primary interest is to stream more profit out of the black community at the expense of WBLS. I say that the Black community should continue to support minority companies that still remain or are trying to get off of the ground. Dont drink the Kool-Aid that makes you think its no longer politically correct to support minority owned stations too. Often they are the only ones who offer programming that is designed to encourage and enlighten its audience, which goes beyond most of the corporations designs. The radio corporation think tanks that are now driving most programming decisions, is based more on profitability and bottom line sales above programming that may be enlightening for the listening audience. If you get both, you are fortunate, but its not by designed for anything else but profit nowadays. Again, if you dont own it, you cant control it comes to my mind. Its time once again for minority ownership to make a comeback around the country because its become very obvious that the major corporations only have an interest in milking as much profit out of the minority communities as they can without allowing for fairness or diversity in programming and other decision making positions and the overall interests of the communities. Thankfully the internet offers some relief if people will be willing to seek it out. Many new stations that are owned and operated by minorities are emerging. Many of them are less profit oriented, so they are not afraid to stick to conventional formats that have been so bland of good music or quality programming. The rise of internet radio is on the horizon and its very encouraging. Hopefully the corporations wont be able to buy all of those up like they did in terrestrial stations. We must maintain ownership, so we can control it!! Hopefully we can learn from the lessons of the past, so we can program a brighter future and everyone will have an opportunity to let their talent shine, and uplifting programming can again be heard on stations nationwide. You can play a role too, listen to and encourage the growth and development of internet radio!! Its the future and its coming to a computer or smartphone near you!! Its world wide and it still allows for programming thats creative and non-monopolized!! Own it and you can control it!!
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 00:30:14 +0000
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