ABSTRACT
The bulk of this chapter examines the legal processes whereby Spanish International Communications Corp. (SICC) lost control of its broadcast licenses for 11 television stations in 1986, the transfer of those licenses to new owners, and the ensuing legal and political fallout. Before delving into that influential development, however, we review the 1980 U.S. Census and Spanish-language television’s status early in the decade. Discussion of the so-called Decade of the Hispanic and its impact on the television industry is postponed until the next chapter. In light of this organizational division, the reader should keep in mind that conceptions offered through the public and business discourses surrounding Hispanics surely influenced the developments reviewed in this chapter.
