Richard T. Craig – författare

In African Americans and Mass Media, Richard T. Craig explores the relationship among the lack of media ownership diversity, in addition to the political, and economical, influences, and policy developments influencing media ownership. Craig also addresses the concern of growing media monopolies and the decline in minority media ownership since the passing of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Focusing the policy argument on this act and the deregulation of media ownership, this book explores, the jeopardy jeopardizing of diminishedas well as the influence on content. Observing Black Entertainment Television (BET) in the last five years of African American ownership and the first five years of conglomerate ownership—paralleling the first decade after the Telecommunications Act was passed—the book includes information about the changes made to information programming on the network. Craig asserts that despite the overwhelming presence of African Americans holding executive positions with the network, Viacom, BET’s current owner, influences the network’s programming and relegates the cultural identity of the network to profit interests. BET is observed as a case study reflective of the importance ethnic media and perspectives reflective of cultural ethnic identities, targeting ethnic audiences. African Americans and Mass Media chronicles the significance of ethnic media, drawing particular attention to African American media in the United States, and advocates for increased communication policy development bolstering minority ownership.

Scholars in the Sociology of Race have extensively researched public policy sectors such as housing, taxation, and immigration. However, media policy research has often failed to effectively engage with the critical concept of racialization, driven instead by political and economic perspectives. Racializing Media Policy fills this gap in the sociological, communications, and media studies literatures with its focus on the racialized processes that construct media policy work in the United States.With research that merges subfields of racialization and media policy, explores the US broadcasting policy, and examines racialization without integration and mediating structural challenges, the authors delve into multiple scenarios of racialization in policy. The chapters offer theoretical frameworks and case studies to consider the ways that media policy spaces are embedded with ideologies and praxes surrounding race.Racializing Media Policy contributes to a wider understanding of the role of policy work in the media systems, particularly by examining the ways that race is embedded within those structures. This unique perspective makes the volume an important read for scholars across the Sociology and Media Studies fields, in addition to providing critical context for policymakers.