A Political-Economic History of FCC Policy on Minority Broadcast Ownership

This retrospective study on Federal Communications Commission policy addresses why minority broadcast ownership has waned as a civil rights issue since the 1960s, and it considers the re-emergence of this concern in the modern media reform movement. From the authors' examination, politics, neoliberal economic philosophy, and media ownership consolidation have contributed to the diminution of minority broadcast ownership in significant ways. The authors' findings have important implications for epistemic communities seeking to redress the lack of minority-owned broadcast facilities.