The Death of "Local Radio.".

• Author: POLGREEN, LYDIA
• Position: Companies are buying radio stations

In the last three years, corporate America has gobbled up much of the dial. But there's a way to take it back

THE 1996 TELECOMMUNICATIONS Act was one of the most lobbied bills in history. Telecom and media interests spent $34 million on campaign contributions for the 1995-96 election cycle--almost 40 percent more than the previous election. The Telecom Act was chock full of goodies for the industry, from cable TV to wireless phone service providers, from television stations to long distance telephone companies. The bill covered so much ground that the quiet but revolutionary changes it made to the rules governing the ownership of radio stations went practically unnoticed.

Until 1996, a company could own no more than 40 radio stations nationwide, and no more than two AM and two FM stations in a market, regardless of the market's size. The Telecom Act removed all restrictions on national ownership, and greatly relaxed the rules on how many stations a company could own in a particular market. In a big market, a company can now own as many as eight stations, and in smaller markets, between five and seven. In smaller cities, it is now possible for two companies to lock up the entire market.

Predictably, these new rules triggered a feeding frenzy. One third of all radio stations in the United States have changed hands since 1996. In 1996 alone, 2045 radio stations were sold, for a total of $13.6 billion. Of the 4992 stations in the 268 ranked markets, almost half are now part a "superduopoly," that is, they are owned by a company that has three or more stations in the market. In 1996 the top ten radio companies controlled only 600 or so radio stations. Today, the four biggest companies--Chancellor Media, Infinity Broadcasting, Clear Channel Communications, and Jacor Communications, which Clear Channel is currently buying--control nearly twice that number. If you live in a major market, chances are there isn't an independent commercial radio station on your radio dial. There are 1,000 fewer station owners today than there were in 1995.

The Bland Band

What commercial radio broadcasters sought--and got--in the 1996 Telecom Act was the ability to create huge national media companies that could put radio on the national advertising map. They could pitch their stations to local and national advertisers alike. If Ford wants to sell cars in Cincinnati, it can deal exclusively with Jacor Communications, which controls eight stations in the city with a range of formats. It can target the 25-54-year-old soccer moms who might buy Aerostar minivans on Adult Contemporary station WVMX, tempt 18-35-year-old males with Mustangs on Rock station WEBN, and peddle Tauruses and Explorers to 35-54-year-old males on news/talk station WKRC.

Ohio-based Jacor was one of the earliest and most aggressive consolidators. In 1995 Jacor had 25 stations, by late 1996 it had 64 stations, and it currently owns 240 stations in 53 mid-sized...