Black Evil Television, Low-Power FM Neighborhood Radio, and the Congressional Black Caucus
by BAR Managing Editor Bruce Dixon
“Whether the music is gangsta rap, Gospel or anything in between, the same handful of national artists sing the same handful of songs from coast to coast.”
Last month viewers of the animated TV series The Boondocks learned that BET really stands for “Black Evil Television”, calculated to stunt the spirits and curtail the intellectual growth of black youth. Satire like the Boondocks depiction of BET only works when it contains big and obvious chunks of the widely known truth. Unfortunately, commercial black radio is not much better.
Spin the dial in any major US market and you'll find one, or four, or a dozen black-oriented stations, some black-owned, but nearly all with the same handful of formats. Whether the music is gangsta rap, Gospel or anything in between, the same handful of national artists sing the same handful of songs from coast to coast. Syndicated black talk radio shows, dishing a standard mixture of celebrity gossip, audience call-ins, shallow self-help and relationship advice with a little current events thrown in occupy the remaining air time.
Although federal laws grant licenses to broadcasters only on the condition that they serve the public interest, local news, local events, and local artists are almost nowhere to be found on the radio. But that could be about to change.
Congress is now considering legislation that will open the door to hundreds of broadcast licenses for low-power FM neighborhood radio stations across the country. With a broadcast radius of only two or three miles, low-power FM neighborhood radio is an ideal vehicle for community and civil rights groups, for unions, for local artists and their promoters, for neighborhood schools and churches to gain access to the airwaves so they can provide audiences with content and services that the owners of big media will not.
“Three out of four black members of the House Commerce Committee where the Low Power FM Neighborhood Radio bill is now are NOT listed as co-sponsors.”
Although the Low Power FM Neighborhood Radio bills enjoy the support of Democrats and Republicans in both houses of Congress, the Congressional Black Caucus definitely bears watching on this issue. In the recent past, giant media and telecom corporations have inundated Black Caucus members with contributions to their campaigns and favorite charities. In 2006 they persuaded 27 out of 40 Black Caucus members to vote in favor of the digital redlining of poor and minority neighborhoods nationwide, and through the National Association of Black State Legislators big media leases African American state reps and senators by the bushel. On media justice issues that affect their communities, Black Democrats vote more often with Republicans than with other Democrats, so this is a time to let them know you are watching.
Three out of four black members of the House Commerce Committee where the Low Power FM Neighborhood Radio bill is now are NOT listed as co-sponsors. They are Bobby Rush of Illinois, Ed Towns of NY and G.K. Butterfield of NC. Email or call the House Commerce Committee at 202-225-2927 (repeat) and suggest that Congressmen Rush, Towns and Butterfield stand up for accountable black radio, for HB 2802, (repeat) the Low Power FM Neighborhood Radio bill. And then ask to be connected to your own member of Congress, to tell him or her the same. We've already got Black Evil Television. It's time we had accountable, local and democratic radio. Low power FM neighborhood radio.
For Black Agenda Radio, I'm Bruce Dixon
Bruce Dixon is based in metro Atlanta, and can be contacted at bruce.dixon(at)blackagendareport.com
We hear from a Black and Brown coalition in Chicago about their meeting with minister Naledi Pandor of South Africa and their mobilizations for solidarity with Palestine.
This week we hear about how the latest round of sanctions are harming the people of Cuba, and how they are responding. But first we talk to members of a Chicago Black and Brown coalition about…
Isaac Saney discusses recent events in Cuba, where shortages of food and electricity caused by U.S. sanctions have resulted in popular discontent, but also a continued commitment to resist.
The International Coalition to Stop Genocide in Palestine invited all signatory organizations to join a global call on Sunday, March 17, 2024 to share the ways groups are working to build public…
The United States relented and abstained from voting on a UN Security Council resolution requiring Israel to abide by a two-week ceasefire. Popular pressure forced this small step. Organized…
