Diversity Policies in the Media Marketplace: A Review of Studies of Minority Ownership, Employment, and Content

Abstract

Achieving diversity has long been a goal of U.S. communications policy. However, the diversity and minority preferences governing the Federal Communications Commission’s broadcast ownership policies have been challenged on the basis of doubts concerning the assumed nexus of minority ownership, a diverse workforce, and content: the triangle. Acknowledging the lack of consensus regarding whether the triangle actually exists, this article reviews previous studies (the majority of which adopted quantitative methods) and suggests some support for the nexus. Building on prior scholarship, this article suggests that future studies can adopt qualitative methods to provide explanations for the nexus by investigating broadcast station stakeholders, content, and the audience, and systematically collect longitudinal, industry-wide datasets to establish causal inferences of ownership, employment, and content.