The Present Landscape
Over the past two decades, broadcasters have successfully lobbied Congress and the FCC to reduce limits on radio ownership. This effort culminated in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which eliminated the national limits on radio station ownership and unleashed an unprecedented wave of consolidation. Today the radio landscape is desolate.
Concentrated
In the aftermath of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, radio station ownership is increasingly concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. Since 1996 total number of station owners has dropped by one third, while the largest single owner, Clear Channel operates over 1200 stations. In most markets, four companies or less have 70% of the market share. Nationally, ten companies account for 67% of revenue.
Wealthy
The average cost of a commercial radio license is now over $2.5 million dollars. The economic barriers to entry keep women and minorities from entering the broadcast industry, both as professionals and owners. To maximize profits, stations focus their programming on wealthy listeners, ignoring the needs and interests of the poor, immigrants, minorities and rural residents.
Non-local
As fewer companies own more and more stations, management and programming are increasingly distant from the communities they serve. Station owners have drastically cut local news operations, and consolidated programming at the regional and national level to save money. Radio, once an intensely local medium, is increasingly separated from civic life.
Homogenous
To maximize advertising revenue, broadcasters must appeal to as many listeners as possible. Consolidation has left fewer and fewer stations in the hands of women and minorities. The result is an abandonment of minority tastes and viewpoints, with nationally syndicated programming, cookie-cutter formats and a vast homogenization of radio content, radio that is the same in Seattle and Savannah.