t). These statistics are depressing considering that there is solid evidence of a positive relationship between minority ownership and minority diversity in the workplace (Gandy, 1998). ObstaclesThere is evidence that the media operate under conditions of considerable pressure and constraint (Astroff, 1989; Brooks, 1995; Rodriguez, 1996). The media are often at the receiving end of a number of sources of power influences. These influences may range from traditions of past performance to pressures of competition. A strong awareness of, and sensitivity to, external pressures and demands is reported in many accounts of the media at work (Rodriguez, 1996; Astroff, 1989). These accounts make it clear that others often shape media performance. Rodriguez analyzed the nightly national newscast of the largest Spanish language television network in the US, Noticiero Univision, as an interaction between demands of the commercial enterprise that can enable media to meet performance goals. He concludes that professional and cultural demands can be integrated into the commercial profit motive, resulting in an "audience-centered, objective, ethnic minority national newscast" (p76). But Astroff's (1989) findings differ from what Rodriguez concluded about Noticiero Univision. Astroff found that existing stereotypes of marginalized groups constrain and shape market recognition of minorities, accurate portrayal, and diversity of characterization. Because media's product is a public rather than a private good and is exposed to immediate public assessment, the quality of the media's product should be subject to much more scrutiny than other consumer products. The media are the primary source of indirect or mediated experiences that shape, reinforce, or eliminate racial attitudes and beliefs. But, the mass media is a business and thus is under business constraints with regard to performance. Commercial media have to be as efficient in their use of...
