A recent FCC report found that advertisers often ignore or underpay ethnic radio and television stations. The same holds true, according to PNS commentator Lee Hubbard, even of the U.S. government as an advertiser and of print media as well. Hubbard is a writer on the staff of the San Francisco Bay View.
Advertising is the lifeblood of the broadcasting industry.
Without ad revenues, broadcasters cannot begin to fulfill their mandate to bring the American people. . . Kennard's comments were based on an FCC study that showed advertisers often ignore or underpay minority owned and formatted stations, making them less profitable, and so ultimately jeopardizing their ability to serve their communities. They report a Herculean struggle to get advertisers and ad agencies to buy space in their publications. When companies set their budgets for advertising, they feel that they can reach the ethnic buyer through general advertising. General advertisers often overlook communities that depend on ethnic media for news.