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Study on
Minority Advertising to Determine Equality on Federal Outreach
for Minorities
Washington, DC--(HISPANIC
PR WIRE)--July 19, 2006--Despite an executive order and a bill
enacted into law by Congress designed to aggressively take steps
to direct resources towards minority owned media, historically
the federal government has not allocated a proportionally fair
amount of resources to promote federal programs directed towards
minorities in minority owned and minority consumed media. A study
on minority advertising requested of the General Accounting Office
(GAO) would determine the effectiveness of the current administration
in addressing this issue.
Executive Order 13170,
signed in October 2000, directs federal agencies to expand all
contracting opportunities for small disadvantaged businesses and
minority business enterprises
Three years later,
in a congressional hearing that took place January 7th, 2003,
Congress recognized that “minority business concerns are
of vital importance to job growth and the economic strength of
the United States but have faced historic exclusion and underutilization
in Federal advertising procurement”.
Thereby, Congress enacted
into law resolution H.R. 132 which states that “all departments
and agencies within the executive branch with procurement authority
should take all necessary steps, as permitted by law, to increase
contracting for Federal advertising between the Federal Government
and minority business concerns”.
This piece of legislation
had little effect since the GAO, which is the administrative agency
in charge of keeping all the records regarding federal spending
did not know how much money was being spent in minority owned
media outlets.
The NAHP pursued this
issue vigorously, but no legislator seemed to push for a thorough
study by the GAO regarding how much money was being spent in minority
owned media outlets.
Finally, on May 16th
2006, Senator Kerry requested the GAO a study on Minority Advertising
Contracts in an effort to ensure minority firms are getting their
fair share of federal advertising contracts.
Unfortunately for minority
owned media businesses, the GAO reply to the request was that
it would take years to determine the how much money every single
federal agency had spent in media and in minority media. So, the
GAO agreed to conduct the study in only key federal agencies.
The study is expected to be completed by late 2006.
Leaders of the Hispanic
media consider this study on minority advertising a step towards
equality but insist that there is still much to be done. “We
will continue to push for equality. The Hispanic community of
this country deserves it,” said Eddie Escobedo, Chair of
the board of Directors of the National Hispanic Press Foundation
(NAHPF).
"The federal government
should lead, not trail, corporate America in the effort to include
minority media outlets and advertising agencies," said Lupita
Colmenero, President of the board of Directors of NAHP.
It is not the first
time that minorities fight for equality in the federal advertising.
Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick, form Michigan, has also expressed
her disappointment with the federal government's advertising track
record back in the Clinton administration.
“The federal
government has not directly contracted with a minority-owned agency,
even for campaigns for issues that affect minorities disproportionately”,
she said back then.
The GAO, acting on
a request from Congresswoman Kilpatrick and Congressman Robert
Menendez, released a report in 2000 detailing the federal government's
poor record of compliance with federal policy favoring the use
of minority-owned and small businesses in the placement of federal
advertising campaigns.
The report, commissioned
by Kilpatrick and Menendez in 1999, showed that total federal
advertising contract obligations increased from $139 million in
fiscal year 1994 to $368 million in fiscal year 1998. During the
same time, obligations to small disadvantaged businesses peaked
at $3 million or 3.1% of obligations in fiscal year 1995, and
declined to 1.2 million or 0.3% in fiscal year 1998, with 66%
going to women-owned businesses. In 1998, some 91 percent of the
total federal advertising budget was allocated to large agencies,
none of which are owned by women or minorities.
“We are waiting
for the GAO office to release the new study on minority advertising
now in 2006, so that we can compare the numbers with the ones
released on 2000 and determine whether or not we are making real
progress on this issue,” said Eddie Escobedo.
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CONTACT:
Adonai Morales
Telephone: 202-662-7256
http://www.nahp.org |
