Melvin B. Miller
Editor & Publisher

Balance sheet casualties

Blacks in Boston were shocked and dismayed to learn of the sudden sale of 97.7 WILD-FM. The real loss was the talk show format on 1090 WILD-AM. For years, radio talk shows in Boston have been generally insensitive to the black perspective. Now one of the few vocal outlets for that perspective is gone, and all that is left is the Tom Joyner Show and gospel music.

The normal reaction at a time of great disappointment is to be abusive toward the person perceived to have caused the problem. Some very insulting remarks have been directed in absentia to Cathy Hughes, the founder of Radio One and former owner of WILD-FM, accusing Radio One of being totally oblivious to the importance of the station’s programming to Boston’s black community.

Cathy Hughes has built one of the nation’s largest radio station companies by borrowing money to finance acquisitions. This strategy works as long as the revenue of the newly acquired stations grows substantially and interest rates do not increase. Unfortunately, a recent drop in WILD-FM’s operating income combined with an increase in the adjustable interest rate on loans led to a 59 percent decline in profits.

Radio One’s bankers and shareholders undoubtedly insisted that management take remedial action. The usual approach is to sell stations to pay off debt from the proceeds. Because Boston’s black market ranks only as the 21st largest in the nation, WILD-FM became a natural target.

Indeed, the loss to the community is grievous, but it is unlikely that any black group was ready to pay $30 million for WILD-FM on short notice, and it is unreasonable to expect Cathy Hughes to sacrifice that amount of money. The sudden loss of talk shows by Jimmy Myers and Rev. Al Sharpton should indicate to everyone the vulnerability of black media.

Toward an enlivened labor

Labor Day became a national holiday in 1894 in deference to the labor union movement. It was once marked by parades and political events to celebrate the rise of the working man in America. Once one-third of all workers were unionized. Today, the number is only nine percent. According to recent polls, workers are becoming increasingly negative about their prospects.

In the past, an increase in productivity meant that workers would benefit. Not anymore. Economic productivity increased by 33.5 percent from 1995 to 2005, but real wages have actually declined since 2000. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that household income rose slightly in 2005, but that is not because of an increase in wages — it’s because more members of the household now have to work to make ends meet. Median household income had actually dropped by 5.9 percent between 1999 and 2004.

The beneficiary of this economic productivity was the top one percent of American taxpayers. Their income surged by 12.5 percent, while the 99 percent of Americans below them saw only a 1.5 percent increase in real income. Even the very well to do, those at the 95th percentile, saw only modest gains.

Despite the enormous affluence at the top, 12.6 percent of the population lives in poverty, and 18 percent of the nation’s children still live below the poverty level. The income inequality in America is actually growing when one considers real income — income adjusted for inflation.

With so many studies showing such pessimism in the workforce, perhaps workers will now vote their economic interests rather than succumb to the disinformation disseminated by the White House.