2025 Kenneth Harwood Outstanding Dissertation Award Presented to Robin Sundaramoorthy, PhD.
Washington, D.C. – Robin Sundaramoorthy, PhD., Adjunct Professor, University of Maryland and American University has been named the recipient of the 2025 Kenneth Harwood Outstanding Dissertation Award for her dissertation, The FCC’s Failed Attempt to Increase Black Radio Ownership.
Robin Sundaramoorthy is a journalism historian whose work focuses on silences, gaps, and omissions. Her research is guided by the notion that who the media leaves out is more important than who is included.
She recently received her PhD in journalism studies from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. Her doctoral dissertation explored efforts by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to increase broadcast minority ownership. Her work examined FCC Docket No. 80-90. This 1980s rule added approximately 700 new FM stations in small-to-mid-sized communities across the country.
Before entering academia, Sundaramoorthy was a TV news journalist. She has 20 years of experience at the local and network levels. She covered the campaigns and elections of Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
Sundaramoorthy also holds a master’s degree in journalism from Michigan State University and bachelor’s degrees in English and mass communications from Newberry College.
In her nomination letter, Linda Steiner, Professor of Journalism, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and DEI stated, “As a Black journalism historian and former journalist, Dr. Sundaramoorthy is committed to giving voice to Black media workers. Dr. Sundaramoorthy’s dissertation examines a rule by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), first conceptualized in the 1970s and implemented in the 1980s, called Docket No. 80-90. The measure was said to be, in part, an attempt to increase minority ownership of local FM radio stations in small-to-mid-sized communities when radio ownership was less than one percent among African Americans. Dr. Sundaramoorthy used a variety of theoretical frameworks, including political economy and critical race theory. She drew on literature regarding broadcast policy, media ownership, deregulation, and spectrum allocation. Dr. Sundaramoorthy’s contributions to journalism and media studies, and especially to radio and telecommunications history, are thus important to understanding the challenges facing Black radio and Black radio broadcasters during the 1980s and 1990s. It is an important and entirely convincing demonstration of the weakness of FCC policies that end with awarding licenses without considering whether minority owners can amass the various forms of capital (but especially economic capital) necessary to long-term thriving and continued operations.”
Established by Kenneth Harwood, Professor at the University of Houston and a former President of BEA, the award has been offering $1,000 for the outstanding Ph.D. dissertation in broadcasting and electronic media for over 25 years. The award was established through gifts started by Professor Harwood and a donation from a friend of BEA. Each year the recipient is selected by BEA’s Research Committee. The Harwood Dissertation Award will be presented to Dr. Sundaramoorthy at BEA’s annual convention in Las Vegas during a ceremony and reception on the evening of Saturday, April 5th at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
About the BEA Convention – BEA’s annual convention is held in conjunction with NAB Show in Las Vegas every spring. Located at the Las Vegas Convention Center, BEA’s annual convention attracts 1,200 educators and students with 250 sessions, events, research panels, technology workshops and an exhibit hall, making BEA the largest conference partner of NAB Show.
About the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) – BEA is the premiere international academic media organization, driving insights, excellence in media production, and career advancement for educators, students, and professionals. There are currently more than 2,300 individual and institutional members worldwide. Visit www.beaweb.org for more informatio