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Media Ownership: Economic Factors Influence the Number of Media Outlets in Local Markets, While Ownership by Minorities and Women Appears Limited and Is Difficult to Assess

GAO-08-383 Published: Mar 12, 2008. Publicly Released: Apr 11, 2008.
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Highlights

The media industry plays an important role in educating and entertaining the public. While the media industry provides the public with many national choices, media outlets located in a local market are more likely to provide local programs that meet the needs of residents in the market compared to national outlets. This report reviews (1) the number and ownership of various media outlets; (2) the level of minority- and women-owned broadcast outlets; (3) the influence of economic, legal and regulatory, and technological factors on the number and ownership of media outlets; and (4) stakeholders' opinions on modifying certain media ownership laws and regulations. GAO conducted case studies of 16 randomly sampled markets, stratified by population. GAO also interviewed officials from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Department of Commerce, trade associations, and the industry. Finally, GAO reviewed FCC's forms, processes, and reports.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Federal Communications Commission To more effectively monitor and report on the ownership of broadcast outlets by minorities and women, the Chairman, FCC, should identify processes and procedures to improve the reliability of FCC's data on gender, race, and ethnicity so that these data can be readily used to accurately depict the level, nature, and trends in minority and women ownership, thereby enabling FCC and the Congress to determine how well FCC is meeting its policy goal of diversity in media ownership.
Closed – Implemented
The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) latest action on media ownership occurred on March 5, 2008, when it adopted rules intended to promote diversification of broadcast ownership. FCC has not taken action on enhancements to its collection of data pertaining to the gender, ethnicity, and race of broadcast licensees as we recommended. In April 2009, FCC issued new rules that enhanced its data collection efforts.

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Topics

BroadcastingCompetitionCooperative agreementsData collectionData integrityEconomic analysisEconomic developmentFederal lawFederal regulationsMass mediaMinoritiesMinority businessesProgram evaluationRadioReporting requirementsRisk factorsStandards evaluationStrategic planningTelevisionWomenWomen-owned businessesProgram goals or objectives