National Hispanic Media Coalition Seeks Support For FCC Hate Speech Inquiry

Representatives of the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) met with Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and her chief of staff, Angela Kronenberg Sept 16, seeking her support for opening an official inquiry into "the extent and effects of hate speech in media."

The NHMC delegation, led by President Alex Nogales, was not pushing for rules; the group is seeking "non-regulatory ways" to counter such speech. Nogales argued that hate speech against Latinos has increased since NHMC first filed its petition for inquiry last year. In that petition, NHMC said that hate speech was prevalent on cable new nets as well as talk radio. NHMC defined hate speech as speech whose cumulative effect is to create an atmosphere of hate and prejudice that "legitimizes" violence against its targets.