Radio One

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Radio One, Inc. describes itself as "the nation's seventh largest radio broadcasting company (based on 2003 net broadcast revenue) and the largest company that primarily targets African-American and urban listeners. Radio One owns and/or operates 69 radio stations located in 22 urban markets in the United States and reaches approximately 13 million listeners every week." [1]

Department of Education Review of PR Contracts

In the aftermath of the controversy over the U.S. Education Department (ED) hiring Armstrong Williams as a sub-contractor to promote the No Child Left Behind Act, the department's Inspector General reviewed all PR contacts in the 2002-2004 period. The Inspector-General was particularly investigating whether materials produced under the contract disclosed the Department of Education as its sponsor if they were communicated to the public.

In financial year 2003 Radio One was awarded a $10,000 contract from the department. "The contract called for two live readings of a PSA to be broadcast in selected cities. The ED contact did not have audio copies or a written script of the PSAs. We were unable to review any deliverables produced under this contract to determine if they resulted in covert propaganda," the Inspector General reported. [2]

Contact details

Web: http://www.radio-one.com/intro.htm

External links

  • Department of Education Office of Inspector General, "Review of Department Identified Contracts and Grants for Public Relations Services" (ED-OIG / I13F0012), issued September 1, 2005; available in MS Word (432K) and PDF (214K) formats.