White Noise: Voices of color scarce on urban public radio
"[Public broadcasting] should provide a voice for groups in the community that may otherwise be unheard...[and] help us see America whole in all its diversity."-- 1967 Carnegie Commission Report, which served as the basis for the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 An Extra! survey finds that the dominant voices on the leading public radio stations in seven U.S. urban markets are overwhelmingly white and predominantly male. The survey, which looked at the ethnicity and gender of the stations' daytime hosts and news anchors, found that 73 out of 83 were non-Latino whites (88 percent). Fifty-seven of the daytime hosts and anchors were male (69 percent). Six of the hosts were African-American, two were Asian-American and two were Arab-American. (Hosts who appeared on multiple stations were counted once for each station.) Just one Latino host appeared during any station's daytime broadcasts, while no Native American hosts showed up in the survey. The dominance of white, male voices contrasts with public radio's professed mission of inclusiveness, especially when considering the diversity of the metropolitan areas the stations serve. [more]