Fewer Minorities in Radio

story by Inside Radio

Estimates are minorities make up a third of America's population, but Hofstra University researchers find the radio industry's diversity is on the decline. Recent layoffs contributed to radio's minority workforce level to drop to 9% this year. Minorities made up nearly 15% of radio employees pre-consolidation.

Hofstra Department of Journalism, Media Studies and Public Relations chair Bob Papper tells Inside Radio the minority numbers in radio have trended down ever since the U.S. Appeals Court did away with the EEO guidelines in 2001. Since then, the FCC has struggled with ways to reverse the trend and its current rules require stations to widely distribute job openings.

Stations are required to file annual reports with the Commission, but those can only be used to "monitor industry employment trends" and not force any hiring decisions. Small stations are exempt from the rules.