Comptroller Lander: Adams Administration Mismanaging Ethnic & Community Media Ad Money Spend

 

In-scope advertising to ECM outlets dropped 84% since Local Law 83 was implemented

City Hall missed deadline to publish mandated FY24 annual advertising report by more than 75 days

In an analysis of the Mayor’s Office of Ethnic and Community Media (MOECM), New York City Comptroller Brad Lander outlined the agency’s failures to comply with Local Law 83 of 2021 (LL83), which intends to support the city’s local publishers by spending a cumulative 50% media advertising threshold on ethnic and community media (ECM) outlets. Additionally, for the first time since its implementation, City Hall published its mandated annual media advertising report months late, rather than at the end of the calendar year.

“Each neighborhood across the five boroughs is defined by its own identity and rich traditions, and community media outlets deliver critical information on a local level and in the language they speak. Unfortunately, City advertising budgets often overlook these outlets and by proxy, the neighborhood readership, viewership, and listenership they serve. By dramatically decreasing ad spends with ECM outlets and releasing their annual spending report more than 75 days late, City Hall undermines the trust these outlets have in City government and the City’s ability to reach all corners of our vast and diverse city,” said Comptroller Brad Lander.

According to LL83, now chapter 77 of the New York City Charter, all mayoral agencies should spend at least 50% of in-scope media advertising on ethnic and community media. LL83 also requires the Administration to publish “a report on the annual advertising for the preceding fiscal year of each mayoral agency” during each calendar year. The report “shall include […] the total amount paid to ethnic and community media outlets for advertising.”

While the Mayor’s Office complied with the mandated annual report for the first two years of Mayor Eric Adams’ tenure, City Hall released the Fiscal Year 2024 report over 75 days late and without a breakdown of what media outlets the advertising spends targeted. More alarmingly, the FY24 report showed a dramatic decrease of in-scope advertising since LL83 was implemented, and the addition of larger, English-speaking media outlets to the ECM directory.

In Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023, MOECM reported spending 18% and 40% of its in-scope ad budgets on ECM outlets respectively. The 22% increase from FY22 to FY23 created the appearance of additional investment, when in reality, City Hall only increased its spending on ECM outlets by just 2.7% because in-scope advertising decreased from roughly $89.6 million to $42.8 million, a 52% reduction over the same period.

This questionable trend of labeling far less advertising as “in scope” accelerated dramatically in Fiscal Year 2024. In FY24, in-scope spending on ECM outlets totaled just $14.2 million, a 67% decrease year-to-year. All told, MOECM has decreased in-scope spending since LL 83 took effect by 84%.

Despite the dramatic decrease in in-scope spending, the FY24 data gives the impression Mayoral agencies spent 51% of their ad budgets on ECM outlets. However, MOECM updated the Ethnic & Community Media Directory in April 2024 and added outlets that are among the biggest, most advertised-on media outlets in the city, including NY1 and 1010WINS. Cumulatively, the changes to the directory would’ve increased the total ECM advertising budget 9% in FY23.

Highlighting the agency’s failure to comply with LL83, Comptroller Lander called on MOECM to explain the changes made to the directory will help the outlets the law was intended to support. In addition, Comptroller Lander calls for the Mayor’s Office to release quarterly data, rather than yearly, to provide increased transparency throughout the fiscal year.

Comptroller Lander added, “The lack of investment in ethnic and community media has potentially far-reaching ramifications for New Yorkers and the City’s goals to support Minority and Women-Owned Businesses. Advertising in ECM outlets helps to ensure equitable access to information and resources for all New Yorkers across communities, which is precisely why the City Council passed Local Law 83 when I was a Council Member.”