Broadcasters Support Proposal For Federal Assistance.

According to Radio Ink magazine, top executives from a number of minority-owned broadcasters have written to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to support a proposal made in an earlier letter from House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn to “ensure minority-owned broadcasters are afforded similar consideration for federal assistance and investment given to the financial services and the domestic auto industry.”

The broadcasters’ letter, signed by executives including Spanish Broadcasting System Chairman/President/CEO Raul Alarcon, Entravision CEO Walter Ulloa, and Inner City Broadcasting Chairman Pierre Sutton, says, “The recession and current credit crisis are having disastrous impacts in all economic sectors, but minority-owned broadcasters are close to becoming an extinct species. Even in better economic times, minority broadcasters have historically had difficulties accessing the capital markets to make the meager gains achieved over a decade after the tidal wave of media consolidation.”

The letter says that, “unlike the auto business,” broadcasting has been healthy in the recent past, and “upon a recovery, could shortly be restored to a path of growth with some temporary assistance.” It cites “the global credit crisis, plummeting ad revenues, no-minority dictates by advertisers, and changes in Arbitron audience measurement” — as well as the loss of auto advertising — for declining ad rates and says many of the broadcasters are or will soon be in default of their credit facilities.

To read article CLICK on link below:
http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=1410857&spid=24698>