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
For Decades, Our Coverage Was Racist. To Rise Above Our Past, We Must Acknowledge It
[Editorial] When we decided to devote our April 2018 magazine to the topic of race, we thought we should examine our own history before turning our reportorial gaze to others. Race is not a biological construct, as writer Elizabeth Kolbert explains in this issue, but a social one that can have devastating effects. “So many of the horrors of the past few centuries can be traced to the idea that one race is inferior to another,” she writes. “Racial distinctions continue to shape our politics, our neighborhoods, and our sense of self.” How we present race matters.
The agenda at this meeting will feature a report from each of the ACDDE Working Groups.
The Status of Women in the U.S. Media 2017
The Women Media Center’s annual examination found that, at 20 of the nation’s top news outlets, men produced 62.3 percent of news reports analyzed during a studied period while women produced 37.7 percent of news reports. That WMC “Divided 2017” analysis showed hardly any progress since the WMC’s previous “Divided” report, when women produced 37.3 percent of news.
Five decades after Kerner Report, representation remains an issue in media
[Commentary] In February of 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson’s National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders issued the Kerner Report—which detailed an extensive and daunting list of inequalities and inequities that led to civil unrest in Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Newark. Among its findings, the commission highlighted how the lack of adequate representation among the people assigning, reporting, and editing media coverage might drive “the underlying problems of race relations.”
How women helped build the internet, and why it matters
Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet, a new book from journalist and musician Claire L. Evans, offers a rougher and more complicated version of the history of the internet.
The non-starter
[Commentary] Race remains a no-go topic for much of the media—which will have serious consequences for the press.
Public broadcasting coalition withdraws request for relief from equal employment opportunity reporting
A coalition of top public broadcast organizations formally withdrew a recommendation that the Federal Communications Commission ease equal employment opportunity requirements for public stations. America’s Public Television Stations, National Public Radio, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Public Broadcasting Service recommended the review in a joint response to the commission’s request for comments on its agenda to modernize media regulations. After supporters of the EEO rules objected last week, the organizations formally withdrew it.
Chairman Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the February Open Commission Meeting ...
Newseum Releases Report on Sexual Misconduct in the Media and Launches New Initiative to Combat the Problem
The Newseum released a report on its groundbreaking Power Shift Summit held on Jan.
Local TV news gets a $2.6 million boost from the Knight Foundation
The Knight Foundation announced that it is boosting local TV news with $2.6 million across five organizations that will help students of color gain experience in local TV markets, bring together broadcast journalists focused on digital innovation in conferences and workshops, and offer ethics, leadership, and data journalism training for newsrooms. The grantees are: