GAO report on minority media ownership sites lack of sufficient data

From Radio Ink
(April 14, 2008) In a report released Friday, the Government Accountablity Office conducted case studies on media ownership in 16 randomly sampled markets and found that media ownership by minorities and women "appears limited" but is "difficult to assess" due to insufficient data.

The GAO notes that the FCC biennially collects data on the gender, race, and ethnicity of broadcast owners in order but says, "These data suffer from three weaknesses: (1) exemptions from filing for certain types of broadcast stations, (2) inadequate data quality procedures, and (3) problems with data storage and retrieval." The report continues, "These weaknesses limit the benefits of this data collection effort."

But even without reliable government data, the GAO says the "available evidence suggests that the ownership of broadcast outlets by minorities and women is limited." The report continues, "Several barriers contribute to the limited levels of ownership by these groups, including a lack of easy access to sufficient capital."

Additionally, the GAO reports, high fixed costs, market size, and regulatory ownership caps also affect media ownership.

The GAO recommends that the FCC "identify processes and procedures to improve the reliability of its data on gender, race, and ethnicity. "

The report was created at the request of the House Commerce Committee, and committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) said in a statement that he is concerned about the FCC's data collection. "If we are to foster further diversity in media ownership," he said, "we first need sound and reliable facts about the current state of affairs."


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