How Ironic That a Century After the Government Moved to Ensure Fair Competition by Either

In the Public Interest

by Dan Donavon

The recent announcement that American Radio Systems, owners of six AM and FM radio stations in the Boston, will be purchased by Westinghouse/CBS, owners and operators of another four stations, should be cause for alarm by anyone concerned about the abuse of a limited public commodity - the airwaves. How ironic that a century after the government moved to ensure fair competition by either dissolving, regulating, or curtailing monopolies in the railroad, steel and oil industries, an even greater threat exists today within broadcasting - only this time with the full support of the government. The effect of deregulation (or lack of it) is no different than it was 100 years ago: with just a few corporations owning a majority of the industry, the delivery of product becomes less driven by the marketplace than it does by their bottom line.

Actually, the radio industry is already a shell of its former, pre-deregulation self. In the 1980s the FCC began to allow ownership of more than one AM and one FM station in a single market. Now with further loosening of the rules which limited station ownership, we will have, of the four AM radio signals that have enough power and reach to be of any consequence, (590, 680, 850, and 1030 on the dial), only one - 590 - not owned by a single corporation.

The result is that the quality of local programming has degraded. Except for the all-news outlet (1030), the other two stations, which once boasted award-winning news teams (who covered this market with live on-the-scene reports and investigative series), now primarily rely on outside news services, which provide nothing more than rehashed Globe, Herald, and Associated Press wire stories.. This market, once the capital of talk radio with three stations programming issues-oriented local talk a majority of their broadcast day, now has only one sports and one talk station, one of which features six hours of nationally syndicated programming during the day, the other four. Syndication means that a listener in Salem, Massachusetts is the same as a listener in Salem, Oregon, and local issue will receive only cursory attention.

The situation is similar on the FM dial. The famous “radio wars” of the 1980s have seemingly given way to a “gentleman’s agreement” among the few companies that own most of the major FM radio stations. For example, WJMN-FM and WXKS-FM, once fierce competitors (the former under another set of call letters) are now owned by the same company, and have carefully programmed their playlists to eliminate conflict, and make it easier for their parent company’s combined sales force to sell advertising. The same is true for WZLX-FM and WBCN-FM. What purports to be competition is in reality the carving up of key demographics (white, 18-24 male who buys beer as opposed to white, 18-24 male who buys lite beer) into easily sell-able packages.

These are quality issues with which some in the industry will no doubt disagree. Certainly those who have seen their personal stock portfolios rise with each new acquisition will be slow to admit what the loss of competition has done to a once proud industry. But there is an even greater threat than that of quality. The fact remains that when just a few individuals have control of both AM and FM bands, we run a risk of having our link to a free and unbiased news source compromised. A reporter or talk host who fails to tow the corporate line, or who chooses to pursue a story that might be damaging to the parent company has few, if any, outlets to which he or she can turn to get out the truth. The threat of blacklisting increases for those bold enough to question the corporate line. And for those lucky enough to keep their jobs, wages and benefits are reduced because there simply aren’t any other places for people to go.

Broadcasters were once licensed to serve “in the public interest.” In our zeal during the eighties to “get the government off our backs,” we allowed Congress to hand over one of our most precious resources - the limited bandwidth of the public airwaves - to a few powerful corporations run by a few powerful men. It is time for a new Teddy Roosevelt to look these giants in the eye, return true competition to the broadcasting industry.

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Dan Donavon is an alias of the true author of this piece, who fears his or her employment status would be threatened with disclosure.