Clear Channel Radio will donate a number of AM station to the council through the MMTC-Clear Channel Ownership Diversity Initiative. Initially, Clear Channel Radio plans to donate AM radio stations KYHN in Fort Smith, Ark.; WTFX in Winchester, Va.; KMFX in Rochester, Minn.; and WHJA in Laurel, Miss. The council will work with the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Education Foundation’s Broadcast Leadership Training Program to use these radio stations for training purposes as well as incubate a new generation of minority and women broadcast owners, says David Honig, president and executive director of the council.
For years, Honig and the council have been pressing their case before the Federal Communications Commission for regulators to award more station licenses to minority and women investors. “Clear Channel Radio’s generosity and support creates an enormous opportunity not only for our own training programs, but for minority and women broadcasters who would not otherwise have the means to operate their own stations,” Honig says. “We look forward to working with Clear Channel through this ongoing program to promote diversity in radio broadcasting.”
Earlier this year, Clear Channel Radio donated a radio transmitter to the council. “We applaud the MMTC for creating a program that helps minority broadcasters develop the skills and experience necessary to become successful broadcasters,” Clear Channel Radio President and CEO John Hogan says. “We’re pleased these resources can help develop the next generation of broadcasters.” The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council is a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization that works to promote equality and civil rights in the mass media and telecommunications industries.
