Last week, Alex Nogales, the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) President and CEO, received a public apology from the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) for the inappropriate online posting and distribution by email of an op-ed in its Broadband and Social Justice Weblog. The op-ed written by Rob Atkinson, which appeared in the March 2015 issue of The Innovation Files, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation’s (ITIF) blog, attacked NHMC and Nogales personally for its Net Neutrality advocacy. Atkinson alleged Cesar Chavez would have been unsupportive of NHMC’s work.
SEE: “What Would Cesar Chavez Think?” (The Innovation Files)
Although the initial op-ed was preposterous, it wasn’t until MMTC, an organization that bills itself as “the leading advocate for minority participation in the communications industries,” revived the bigoted piece by reposting it on its blog a month later and then blasting it to thousands of email subscribers a week after that.
“NHMC and MMTC had a long relationship, and as a former Advisory Board Member, I was shocked by the republication of the article,” Nogales said. “I am pleased to see this come to a resolution, and I hope MMTC recommits to living up to the organization’s mission.”
Contrary to what Atkinson claimed, NHMC has always faithfully endeavored to represent its constituents by shaping federal policy with an eye toward greater diversity, participation and the public interest. Unfortunately, all too often, MMTC has steadfastly stood in our path, playing the role of antagonist or impediment. Facilitating the invocation of Chavez’ name to smear NHMC and Nogales’ name is regrettable and does little to positively benefit MMTC’s reputation.]]>
