greater diversity of viewpoints, and expand minority ownership, by making available tax credits to sellers of radio and television stations to minority buyers. These certificates would permit a seller to defer capital gains taxes if their proceeds were subsequently reinvested into another broadcast outlet within two years. According to Adelson (1997), "the result effectively lowered the acquisition costs of a television or radio station for a minority owner" (p. D9).
The number of licenses in the hands of minority owners rose dramatically after 1978, when just 40 stations were minority-owned (Adelson, 1997, p. D9). Within two years, the number of stations which were minority-owned grew to about 150, but the pace of growth slowed significantly; by 1992, there were still less than 200 station licenses controlled by minority owners (Flint, 1992, p. 25).
Through mid-1995, the FCC had issued some 479 tax credit certificates, 75 percent of which "went to minority owners in deals that averaged $4 million for a radio station and $38 million for a television station, according to Commerce Department figures" (Adelson, 1997, p. D9). As James A. Winston, executive director of the National Association of Black-Owned Broadcasters, remarked, "It was the single most important policy in increasing ownership" of radio and TV stations by blacks and other minorities (Adelson, 1997, p. D9).
But this was all "swept aside" by Congress in 1995. Viacom, Inc. attempted to subvert the policy by proposing to sell its cable television interests to a black entrepreneur whose operations were actually nearly 80 percent owned by Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI is the nation's largest cable television systems operator). This transaction would have created a $600 million tax cre
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