NABOB says feds shortchange urban radio.

Story by Inside Radio

A congressional report estimates three quarters of a billion dollars were spent by the federal government on advertising during fiscal 2011. Two-thirds of that came from the Department of Defense, with Health and Human Services, Treasury, Transportation and Homeland Security also spending tens of millions of dollars. But the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters says its members receive a “very small share” and it’s targeting the category to change that.

“Many black-owned broadcast stations receive no federal ad dollars,” according to the group, which says many stations aren’t even aware there are dollars up for grabs until they hear a spot on a competing station. NABOB says the problem lies in how the money is spent. Typically each federal agency decides where to place its ad dollars through its own advertising agency. The result, says NABOB, is that those agencies place buys within their existing “old boy advertising universe.”

The first step in their initiative to change that is to lay the groundwork. NABOB is encouraging members to contact their members of Congress as well as the federal agencies, and report back their findings. In a time when a lot of operators are struggling, NABOB says receiving a “fair share” of federal advertising “could mean the difference between survival and failure.”