Struggles for Equal Voice

Yuya Kiuchi is Assistant Professor of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures at Michigan State University. He is the cotranslator of the Japanese edition of Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.

"…Struggles for Equal Voice … will prove useful to students and scholars of African-American history, culture, and technology. Kiuchi succeeds in making this book a starting point for future scholarship on the African-American use of television as a means to re-create their image." — Journal of American Culture"Kiuchi has done commendable, extensive archival work." — Journal of American History"…engagingly written, well-researched, and commendably argued. Kiuchi provides a revealing and informative insight into how the mass media in America can overcome its problematic history regarding racial sensitivities, while ultimately achieving positive social outcomes for otherwise disenfranchised minorities. Kiuchi gives us an important book, one that should be read by anyone interested in racial relations and the social history of American television." — Journal of Popular Culture

• AcknowledgmentsPrefaceIntroduction: Unveiling the Struggles for Equal Voice1. The Black Image in the White PathologyAfrican Americans and the Film IndustryAfrican Americans and the Television IndustryAfrican Americans in Mainstream Visual Culture2. Cable Television: Past and PresentPrelude: Early Days of Cable Television, 1948–1969Legal, Economic, Professional, and Technological Concerns, 1960–1979Legal, Literature, and Public and Community Access Channels, 1980–1989Decrease in Cable Awareness, 1990–2010Need for Grassroots Movement for Cable Representation3. The Incubation Period of Cable TelevisionBoston’s Social and Historical Background in the 1970sMel King and African American Media RepresentationForeseeable Advantage of Cable Television in BostonDetroit’s Social and Historical Background in the 1970sDetroit’s Twenty-Year Period of Feasibility Discussions and StudyFinal Draft of the Request for Proposals4. Drafting of Democratic Communication MediaDrafting and Issuing the Request for Proposals in BostonApplying to Wire Boston: Submitting Preliminary ApplicationIssuing of Request for Proposals in BostonSubmission of Amended ApplicationDrafting and Issuing the Request for Proposals in DetroitApplying to Wire Detroit: Barden CablevisionEmphasis on Public Access and Local Origination in Detroit5. Progress and Struggles in the Process of Franchise Decisions for Media DemocracyBoston’s Period of Application ReviewPublic Hearings in the Early Summer of 1981Analyzing the Final ApplicationsChoosing Cablevision over Warner AmexDiscussion with CablevisionGranting the License to CablevisionDetroit’s Period of Application ReviewIssuing the Final ReportPolitics Delay Media DemocracySigning the Final Agreement with Barden Cablevision of Detroit6. From Agreement to Production: Period of StrugglingBoston and Its Post-Agreement PhaseCablevision’s Failure to Meet the ExpectationsA Beginning of an Alternative Media Form of African American BostoniansDetroit and Its Post-Agreement PhaseDelays during the Post-Agreement PhaseConclusion: BET is not the AnswerHistorical Lessons from Cable Television in Boston and DetroitAfrican Americans in Cable Television in a National ContextNotesBibliographyIndex