Ownership Concentration and Indecency: Is There a Link?
Working Paper
Jonathan Rintels, Philip M. NapoliAbstract
This report makes clear that when radio station and program ownership is concentrated in fewer owners’ hands, as it has been since the passage of the 1996 Telecom Act, the decision by any one owner to broadcast indecent material impacts a substantially larger audience than was possible prior to the lifting of ownership limits. Conversely, in the case of the three companies now operating under FCC Consent Decrees, their decision not to broadcast certain material also impacts a substantially larger audience than was possible prior to the lifting of ownership limits. This report suggests that the increasingly centralized ownership of broadcast radio stations and programming may contribute to the problem of increased indecency on the airwaves. In addition, increasingly centralized ownership may also reduce constitutionally protected speech on the public airwaves.
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Donald McGannon Communication Research Center
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- Donald McGannon Communication Research Center. Bronx, , NY, US