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This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
FCC RELEASES ADVERTISING STUDY WHICH REVEALS A TALE OF TWO SYSTEMS; STUDY SHOWS BROADCASTERS SERVING THE MINORITY COMMUNITY EARN LESS PER LISTENER
Stating that "Minority broadcasters should have a fair opportunity to compete for ad dollars," FCC Chairman William Kennard today released a study and conducted a forum on the impact of advertising practices on minority-owned and minority-formatted broadcast stations. The study was done by Kofi Ofori, Director of Research for the Civil Rights Forum.
The study provided evidence that advertisers often exclude radio stations serving minority audiences from ad placements and pay them less than other stations when they are included. Among other things, it found that:
- Ninety-one percent of minority radio broadcasters responding to the survey indicated that they had experience with "no urban" dictates or "no Spanish" dictates: instructions from advertisers not to buy advertisements on their radio stations. Those exclusions were often based on stereotypes about the minority consumers they serve.
- The dictates that no time be bought on urban or Spanish stations and the lower rates paid to these stations when buys were made, reduced their revenues by an average of 63 percent.
Immediately following the release of the study, Chairman Kennard joined high-level representatives from the broadcasting, advertising and civil rights communities to discuss the study's findings and plan future actions. Participants in the discussion forum included Chairman Kennard; Commissioner Gloria Tristani; Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, a member of the Black Congressional Caucus (D, 15th Michigan); Mr. Ofori; Lewis Carr, Black Entertainment Television; Tom Castro, CEO of El Dorado Communications; Judith Ellis, Senior Vice President, Emmis Radio/General Manager WRKS, New York, NY; Byron Lewis, CEO of Uniworld Advertising Agency; Wallace Snyder, President American Advertising Federation; and Jim Winston, Executive Director, National Association of Black-Owned Broadcasters.
Chairman Kennard announced that on February 22 a summit would be held in New York City to continue this initiative. Participants will be representatives from the advertising industry, broadcasters, media representatives, the Federal Communications Commission and Congress. At that time participants will consider the advertising study's recommendations to adopt a Code of Conduct to oppose unfair ad placement and payment, to encourage diversity in hiring and training and to enforce laws against unfair business practices.