Too few voices
These charts show who owns the major broadcast and print media outlets in San Francisco. They demonstrate two key points: (1) nearly all of the local media are owned by out-of-town conglomerates, and (2) a small number of big companies control a disproportionate percentage of the local airwaves.
Of the 42 radio stations that can be readily received in San Francisco, 9 are owned by Clear Channel (out of San Antonio) and 7 by Infinity Broadcasting, which is a subsidiary of Viacom (out of New York). Those two companies, in other words, own 38 percent of the local radio stations (and the ones they own tend to have the largest market share). If you add in Walt Disney Co./ABC, Bonneville International, and Susquehanna Media Co., more than half of local radio is controlled by just five conglomerates.
The same goes for local TV: of the major commercial stations readily received in San Francisco, not one is owned locally. Only the nonprofits, KQED and the Minority Television Project, are locally controlled.
The local print media situation isn't much better. Both daily newspapers are owned by big out-of-town operations, as is one of the two alternative weeklies.
Research by Kara Andrade, Thea Lavin, Rina Palta, Allison Raaum, Martin Ricard, and Kristina Rizga
| Local TV station ownership |
| Call sign and network |
Channel |
Owner and location |
| KBHK (UPN) |
44 |
Viacom (New York) |
| KPIX (CBS) |
5 |
Viacom |
| KMTP |
32 |
Minority Television Project (San Francisco) |
| KRON |
4 |
Young Broadcasting of San Francisco (N.Y.) |
| KCNS |
38 |
EW Scripps Howard Co. (Cincinnati) |
| KQED |
9 |
KQED (S.F.) |
| KBWB (WB) |
20 |
KOFY-TV License Inc. (S.F.) and Granite Broadcasting (N.Y.) |
| KGO (ABC) |
7 |
Walt Disney Co./ABC (Burbank) |
| KDTV |
14 |
Univision Communications (Los Angeles) |
| KTSF |
26 |
Lincoln Broadcasting Co. (Brisbane) |
| KTVU (Fox) |
2 |
Cox Enterprises (Atlanta) |
| KSTS |
48 |
Telemundo Network Group (FL) and NBC subsidiary |
| KICU |
36 |
Cox |
Sources: Center for Public Integrity (www.publicintegrity.org/resources.aspx), People Behind the News: A San Francisco Bay Area Media Resource Guide (Media Alliance, 2001).
| San Francisco newspaper ownership |
| Name |
Owner |
| San Francisco Chronicle |
Hearst Corp. (New York) |
| San Francisco Examiner |
Anschutz Co. (Denver) |
| San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Bruce B. Brugmann and Jean Dibble (San Francisco) |
| SF Weekly |
New Times Corp. (Phoenix) |
| Independent |
Anschutz |
| Bay Area Reporter |
Private trust (S.F.) |
Sources: Center for Public Integrity (www.publicintegrity.org/telecom/analysis/Default.aspx), People Behind the News: A San Francisco Bay Area Media Resources Guide (Media Alliance, 2001).
| San Francisco radio station ownership |
| FM stations |
|
|
| Call sign and content |
Frequency |
Owner and location |
| KISQ (urban music) |
98.1 FM |
Clear Channel (San Antonio) |
| KKSF (smooth jazz) |
103.7 FM |
Clear Channel |
| KMEL (hip-hop) |
106.1 FM |
Clear Channel |
| KIOI (soft rock) |
101.3 FM |
Clear Channel |
| KYLD (music) |
94.9 FM |
Clear Channel |
| KSJO (rock) |
92.3 FM |
Clear Channel |
| KFOX (soft rock) |
98.5 FM |
Clear Channel |
| KITS (alternative) |
105.3 FM |
Infinity Broadcasting/Viacom (New York) |
| KFRC (classic rock) |
99.7 FM |
Infinity/Viacom |
| KBAA (adult contemporary) |
93.3 FM |
Infinity/Viacom |
| KLLC (rock) |
97.3 FM |
Infinity/Viacom |
| KBAY (soft rock) |
94.5 FM (93.3 FM in S.F.) |
Infinity/Viacom |
| KOIT (soft rock) |
96.5 FM |
Bonneville International Corp. (Salt Lake City) |
| KDFC (classical) |
102.1 FM |
Bonneville |
| KZBR (country) |
95.7 FM |
Bonneville |
| KFOG (rock) |
104.5 FM |
Susquehanna Media Co. (York, Pa.) |
| KSAN (classic rock) |
107.7 FM |
Susquehanna |
| KBRG (Latin) |
100.3 FM |
Entravision Communications Corp. (Santa Monica) |
| KEAR (Christian) |
106.9 FM |
Family Stations Inc. (Oakland) |
| KSOL (Latin) |
98.9 FM |
Univision Communications (Los Angeles) |
| KUSF (music/news) |
90.3 FM |
University of San Francisco |
| KPOO (music/news) |
89.5 FM |
Poor People's Radio (S.F.) |
| KQED (news) |
88.5 FM |
KQED Inc. (S.F.) |
| KPTI (dance) |
92.7 FM |
Spanish Broadcasting System (Coconut Grove, Fla.) |
| KBLX (R&B) |
102.9 FM |
Inner City Broadcasting (N.Y.) |
| KSRH (mixed) |
88.1 FM |
San Rafael High School |
| KALX (mixed) |
90.7 FM |
UC Berkeley |
| KCSM (jazz) |
91.1 FM |
San Mateo County Community College District |
| KALW (news) |
91.7 FM |
San Francisco Unified School District |
| KPFA (mixed) |
94.1 FM |
Pacifica Foundation (Berkeley) |
|
|
|
| AM stations |
|
|
| Call sign and content |
Frequency |
Owner and location |
| KFRC (classic rock) |
610 AM |
Infinity/Viacom |
| KCBS (news) |
740 AM |
Infinity/Viacom |
| KSFO (talk) |
560 AM |
Walt Disney Co./ABC (Burbank) |
| KGO (talk/news) |
810 AM |
Disney/ABC |
| KABL (pop) |
960 AM |
Clear Channel |
| KDIA |
1640 AM |
Quick Broadcasting |
| KNEW |
910 AM |
Clear Channel |
| KVTO |
1400 AM |
Inner City |
| KTOB |
1490 AM |
Moon Broadcasting Corp. |
| KTCT |
1050 AM |
Susquehanna |
| KDYA |
1190 AM |
Quick |
| KFAX (Christian) |
1100 AM |
Salem Communications (Camarillo) |
Sources: Center for Public Integrity (www.publicintegrity.org/resources.aspx), People Behind the News: A San Francisco Bay Area Media Resource Guide (Media Alliance, 2001), Bay Area radio stations directory at www.baywideweb.com, San Francisco Chronicle (www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/tvradio/media/radio_am.DTL).