BEA2026

Since the Telecommunications Act of 1996, radio and television mergers and acquisitions have exploded in a push to deregulate local media ownership in the United States. As family owned stations became conglomerate owned, single stations became duopolies, and shell companies “owned” stations in name only, local broadcasters have borne the brunt of the business decisions of their corporate mega-owners. What has this done to the face of LOCAL broadcasting? This panel discusses impacts on minority radio ownership and programming, labor impacts for station workers, and the state of local journalism in the community.
Moderator: Carey L. Higgins-Dobney, University of Kentucky
Panelists: Chip Mahaney, Southern Methodist University
Robin Mazyck Sundaramoorthy, Lehigh University
Mary Beth Earnheardt, Youngstown State University
Nicole Clarity, Hofstra University