Adrianne Furniss

Benton Foundation Executive Director Adrianne B. Furniss announced that former Federal Communications Commissioner and Acting Chair Mignon L. Clyburn has joined the foundation’s Board of Directors effective January 1, 2019. 

Nominated by President Barack Obama, Clyburn served as an FCC Commissioner from August 2009 until June 2018, and as Acting FCC Chair from May 20, 2013 through November 4, 2013. While at the FCC, Clyburn was a champion of diversity in media ownership, an advocate for the reform of Inmate Calling Services, and a staunch defender of a free and open internet.

The power of communication and the exchange of ideas were starkly brought home recently as news of bombs being delivered to Americans’ homes and businesses, and the murder of worshipers in Pittsburgh dominated headlines everywhere. President Donald Trump and some of his Republican allies appear to be actively engaged in a feedback loop with extremists who participate in the darkest online forums.

The Benton Foundation is joining 40 civil and human rights organizations that believe that online companies need to do more to combat hateful conduct on their platforms. We are asking that these companies adopt corporate policies to prohibit hateful activities on their platforms. They should make it clear what type of conduct is and is not permitted on their platform and remove any U.S. clients that violate those corporate policies. Although Benton has always championed free speech, today we draw a line.

We all know Michael J. Copps as a person and a public official. But I want to speak to Michael’s values. As an FCC Commissioner, Michael Copps brought the FCC to the public and the public to the FCC. He engaged broad constituencies in policy discussions. Among these, he valued input and participation from groups he termed “non-traditional stakeholders" like civil rights groups, Native Americans, people with disabilities, and other marginalized communities.

I am thrilled to return to TPRC to present the winners of the Charles Benton Early Career Scholar Award. Deeply embedded in the DNA of the Benton Foundation are three key values: access, equity, and diversity. Today we celebrate a paper that, we feel, makes an important contribution to communications and media policy literature. We know that communities of color face complex challenges achieving equitable outcomes. This paper delves into why. There are a couple of takeaways here that I’d like to highlight.

I trust that the people of this country have not so lost their love of truth that they would allow their leaders to vilify our brothers and sisters who seek out and report on the truth so that we can aptly practice our democracy.  Who can argue with the importance of a free press to our nation, our democracy, our liberty? And who would try to turn the people against our own tool for holding government accountable? That is the work of tyrants – and tyrants are the true enemy of the people.

There has always been a challenge to ensure all Americans can get the news and information they seek -- a challenge that has been a personal one for our family. I hope you and your peers will take a stand. In your own artistic self-interest, you need to think about how you will connect with and grow your audience in the digital age. (You have bills to pay, after all!) But in the greater public interest, we need you to act as stewards to ensure a handful of big companies don’t impede innovation, block information, or stifle culture and free speech. Be energized and help us right the ship.

[Editorial] May 9 marks the end of a chapter. But this book is still being written. Today, we celebrate the many accomplishments of Mignon Clyburn, Federal Communications Commissioner. Few public servants have worked as hard for people whose voices are too seldom heard.

If there’s anything that coming to a gathering like Net Inclusion really brings home, it is that addressing inequity is the responsibility of everyone in the community. None of us can solve a problem like digital inclusion working on our own. It takes collaboration; a web of dedicated advocates from all over the country working on all aspects of the issue. So, I am thrilled that the third annual Charles Benton Digital Equity Champion Award honors one of our field’s great collaborators, Deb Socia. Deb is the Founding Executive Director of Next Century Cities.

[Editorial] The Benton Foundation has joined literally hundreds of organizations that are asking the Federal Communications Commission to ensure Lifeline voice and broadband service for low-income households, with minimal disruption to the people who depend on the program for a consistent connection to the world via their telephone or internet connection. We're asking that the FCC: