MMTC to FCC: How About a Diversity Commissioner?

The Minority Media & Telecommunications Council has some reform proposals for the Federal Communications Commission it says can be done now, most of which would not only not cost anything but save the FCC money while creating jobs and diversifying the industry.

One idea: designate what would essentially be a Diversity Commissioner to focus on the issue, similar to the designated Defense Commissioner (who is the point person on emergency communications issues). FCC chairman Tom Wheeler charged special counsel Diane Cornell with having an FCC process reform report on his desk by the end of 2013, and sought input from outside as well. MMTC is focused on speeding FCC process, improving multistakeholder processes, and a more inclusive and transparent process, to advance minority and women-owned business engagement. Those recommendations also include instituting shot clocks, streamlined reviews, limit extension of forbearance deadlines, include specific wording in notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), putting individual commissioners in charge of shepherding specific decisions, create a multistakeholder mediation process, create a Civil Rights section of the Enforcement Bureau, and issue a diversity impact statement for NPRMs and orders in major rulemakings.