The Federal Communications Commission has considered four aspects of diversity: 1) Viewpoint diversity ensures that the public has access to a wide range of diverse and antagonistic opinions and interpretations provided by opportunities for varied groups, entities and individuals to participate in the different phases of the broadcast industry; 2) Outlet diversity is the control of media outlets by a variety of independent owners; 3) Source diversity ensures that the public has access to information and programming from multiple content providers; and 4) Program diversity refers to a variety of programming formats and content.
Diversity
House Communications Subcommittee Somewhat Divided on Promoting Media Marketplace Diversity
The House Communications Subcommittee was in agreement that more needed to be done to boost minority media ownership, but Republican members focused more on what they said broadcasters and cable operators were already doing to address the issue. The hearing, "Lifting Voices: Legislation to Promote Media Marketplace Diversity", looked at various bipartisan bills to promote more diversity data collection and analysis at the Federal Communications Commission and provide more access to capital.
A hearing to consider legislation that would ensure our media laws reflect the great diversity of this nation
Legislation
H.Res. 549, reaffirming the commitment to media diversity and pledging to work with media entitities and diverse stakeholders to develop common ground solutions to eliminate barriers to media diversity
Congress must act to increase minority broadcasters
Though women and minorities constitute an increasingly large portion of our country’s populace, ownership of broadcast media remains dominated by white males. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has long ignored its congressional mandate to ensure a diversity of media viewpoints and continues to disregard orders from federal courts to increase women and minority participation in media ownership. The time has long passed for Congress to act.
NTIA Minority Broadband Initiative
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration launched the Minority Broadband Initiative (MBI), working with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to ensure all Americans can participate in the digital economy. NTIA will build upon its relationships with HBCUs, as community anchor institutions, to leverage minority stakeholder engagement in finding new opportunities for broadband deployment.
FCC Challenges Court's Smackdown
The Federal Communications Commission is seeking full-court review of a three-judge panel decision vacating its broadcast media ownership deregulation decision. The FCC filed a petition for review, arguing that the three-judge panel decision imposed burdens beyond those allowed in the Administrative Procedure Act, second-guessed the FCC to the point that it undermined congressional intent, and breaks with higher-court and sister-court pr
The theme, “Access to Opportunity,” reflects MMTC’s pivotal role as a convenor and a connector that educates and trains diverse communities on law and policy, and access to capital, jobs, and other opportunities available to them in an increasingly digital economy.
Commissioner Starks on Diversity MOU
Our major companies should have a workforce that looks like America, from entry-level positions to the board of directors. As I have long advocated, diversity is more than just best practices – it is good business. I appreciate how this principle is reflected in the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between T-Mobile and the National Urban League, National Action Network, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC, OCA–Asian Pacific American Advocates, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and UnidosUS.
Civil Rights Groups Strike Diversity Agreement with T-Mobile-Sprint
A number of civil rights groups have struck an agreement with T-Mobile-Sprint to expand on the companies' diversity initiatives significantly if the two close on their merger.
The agenda for the meeting will include introducing members of the Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment (ACDDE), including the Committee Chair and Vice Chair, and establishing working groups that will assist the ACDDE in carrying out its work. This agenda may be modified at the discretion of the ACDDE Chair and the DFO.
Commissioner Starks at the Media Institute Free Speech America Gala
The rights enshrined in the First Amendment, including freedom of speech and freedom of the press, guide the Federal Communications Commission’s public interest standard, which must inform everything that we do. But the fact that those celebrated words were written into the Bill of Rights does not, in and of itself, guarantee that it will work as intended. The First Amendment is not self-executing. Preserving its guarantees requires the vigilance of regulators, the media, and the public alike. Ida B.