The merger of two legendary R&B radio stations in New York City is a major blow to diversity on the dial, and signals — yet again — that black radio is on the decline.

Longtime rivals Kiss-FM (WRKS) and WBLS are combining operations. Disney will lease Kiss’ old frequency to expand its ESPN network. While the deal may simply be a sign of economic struggle, with both stations losing considerable revenue over the last few years, another struggle is at play: the fight to keep voices of color on the air.

Mergers like this one squeeze out radio stations serving communities of color at a time when the mainstream media don’t give fair and equal representation to minority voices. And with people of color owning just 7 percent of commercial radio stations, the need for programming by and for black people is crucial. But radio stations serving communities of color continue to disappear.

Tom Joyner, whose syndicated talk show on WBLS will not air post-merger, issued a statement about the impact the deal will have on the black community. He said:

I am saddened that an important black voice is going silent in New York City, especially during this important election year. Although social media currently gets a lot of credit and rightfully so, nothing can replace the role black radio plays in empowering, informing and entertaining black people.

Much of the chatter surrounding the merger is about a technology that tracks audiences for radio stations — and whether that technology undercounts minority and urban listeners, leading to faulty results. Radio ratings service Arbitron began using a small electronic device called the Portable People Meter (P.P.M.) in 2007 to track radio signals and collect precise audience data.

As The Root predicted in 2008, use of the technology has left “black-owned radio … embarking on a fierce fight for its very survival.”

For example, Radio One’s chief executive told the New York Times that the decision to transition several stations from hip-hop, R&B and gospel to “general-interest” formats was largely a response to Arbitron’s tracking results.

Another executive — Jeff Smulyan of WRKS’ parent, Emmis Communications — underscored the point. “The recent economic downturn has affected the profitability of everyone in radio,” Smulyan told the Times, “but the decline has been much more pronounced in adult African-American targeted stations, largely because of the impact of P.P.M.”

Whether it’s the forces of media consolidation at work or the impact of a questionable tracking system, black radio continues to be silenced and stifled. Once a driving engine for the African-American community, black radio is vanishing. And every time we lose another station, a complexity and diversity of viewpoints, perspectives, programming and music dies with it.

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