The Telecommunications Act Of 1996 Case Summary

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1. The Telecommunications act of 1996 affected both station managers’ duties and community programming by radio stations. According to Keith’s Radio Station, the act “forced radio station management to adjust and evolve to ensure that radio stations remain financially competitive.” Due to the Telecommunications act, individual companies can own a number of stations from the same market, which affects station managers because they have to manage many more stations and operations in the same building now than they had to before. In addition, they have to compete with advancing technology and media that wasn’t popularized before or didn’t exist years ago. The act also eliminated most ownership restrictions on radio, which affected community programming …show more content…

Some characteristics and qualities of a good General Manager would include a formal education, practical experience in various areas, good organization skills, great leadership and social skills, creativity, enthusiasm, logic, morality, patience, reliability, trustworthiness, responsibility, being respectful, a positive attitude, motivation, discipline, hardworking, intelligence, modesty, and integrity.

4. A radio station is a broadcasting facility given a specific frequency by the Federal Communications Commission, while a radio cluster combines several stations together in one location and is owned by the same company. Radio clusters often have individuals working at multiple stations, instead of having different staffs working for each station.

5. A successful manager must interface with several entities besides the employees of the station or cluster. As mentioned by Dick Oppenheimer, a manager should interact with an attorney, for instance, because they can establish policies, write an employee manual, and assist with conveying necessary information to wherever needed, such as a management. A manager may also need to interface with advertisers to promote events, programs, etc. or communicate with vendors for outside marketing. To help with financial issues, a manager should meet with accountants. Moreover, managers must communicate with corporate heads/owners, sponsors, listeners, and the community to help build good teams, maintain connections, achieve specific goals, and concern with profits since the industry is considered “big business”, in which good communication and management skills are crucial due to the fact that “so much money is at