Black Radio: Its Origin, Development and Changing Trends
Author:
Raymond Dwight Bachman
Degree Date:
August, 1974
Committee Chairperson:
Rukudzo Murapa
Call Number:
Thesis DT 3.5 1974 B124
Description:
ii-vi, 115 l. illus. 29 cm
Abstract:
This study is an inquiry into the problems facing potential Black owners of radio stations. It seeks to determine and evaluate the nature of the varying concerns and the general characteristics that have marked the main lines of Black radio's development. An attempt is also made to identify the forces making for changes in Black radio and to analyze the impact of their interaction in the operation of Black radio as an institution.
The method of this inquire is one of an evaluative analysis, where identifiable forces are weighed as they emerge as factors in the development of Black radio. Also employed are the historical and comparative methods to determine whether there was any real change from one stage of the development of Black radio to another. These methods attempt to separate descriptions of Black radio to provide insight into the contemporary issues and new historical factors that will be significant in, perhaps, a later stage of Black radio's development, which might be called "Community-controlled Black radio." Material consulted for the study was both primary and secondary in nature. These included official rulings, studies, by scholars on subjects related to the problem, newspapers, periodicals, books, and hearings. Some interviews conducted with various media representatives were also incorporated into the study. The inquiry finally made use of speeches, reports, conventions, and a number of pamphlets and monographs.
This analysis reveals that the development of black radio was a response to negative social, political, and legal factors that had become discernible as a misrepresentation among Blacks who knew the impact of image manipulation and the power of having access to information. It also shows that while the number of Black-owned radio stations was on the increase, that in terms of the study's definition of Black radio, this medium appears to be both sketch and fragmentary, not completely convincing as a Black insitution. Finally, the study demonstrates that the idea of "community control" surrounds the concept of Black radio.