African American Community Radio
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KKDA-AM and KKDA-FM are rare examples of local broadcasting in the
post-Telecommunications Act of 1996 era of radio broadcasting. They are privately
owned by Dallas businessman Hyman Childs, unlike most large-market stations,
which are owned by far-flung corporations. Childs is “as legendary for his business
acumen as his reclusiveness” (Brumley, August 25, 1999). He declined to be
interviewed for this article.
But Service Broadcasting Chief Operating Officer Ken Dowe said local
ownership allows KKDA-AM and KKDA-FM to react quickly to local events and
better serve the listeners. “Local, local, local — that’s what people care about,”
Dowe said (Brumley, May 28, 2000).
Launching the Learning Process: Getting Attention
As early as 1963, Bandura, along with two other researchers demonstrated
that children could learn aggressive behaviors demonstrated by a model (whether
live or televised); however, professor Alexis Tan cautions that these findings should
be sparingly generalized. He notes three specific factors, including the children’s
state of frustration immediately before the modeled act, and the opportunity provided
them immediately after the modeled action to imitate what they saw (p. 254). Even
from this early experiment, however, the modeled behavior and the contexts in
which such behavior is “observed” become key factors in generating audience
response. Thus, the first stage of Bandura’s model, the attentional stage, involves a
critical relationship between the mediated behavior and the audience, whereby the
“model” gains attention in a way that coincides with the audience’s readiness to
yield such attention. And while radio is obviously not a visual medium, a skillful
host can captivate receptive audiences with the right mix of sounds and conversation.
And, after 25 years in the business, KKDA’s Willis Johnson is masterful at convening
his listeners’ attention.
KKDA-AM often plays short sound bites of Martin Luther King and other
historical African-American figures. “Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty,
we’re free at last!” is dropped in between commercials. Johnson gives credit to
program director Chuck Smith for the King drop-ins: “It sets the station apart” (W.
Johnson, personal communication, Oct. 22, 1999).
Often, Johnson’s program has provided an outlet for leaders of
Dallas’s African-American community to convey their ideas. In 1997,
Kirk went on Johnson’s program to explain his criticism of John Wiley
Price, the former KKDA-AM talk-show host, for leading raucous
demonstrations at Dallas school board meetings. Price, in turn, had
organized protest demonstrations outside Kirk’s home (Lee, April 24,
1997).