FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 9, 2012
CONTACT: Inez Gonzalez igonzalez@www.nhmc.org (213) 718-0740
The Leadership Conference Urges That Ownership Data Be Collected And Analyzed Before Any Change
Washington, D.C. - Today, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging the FCC not to relax or eliminate any of its media ownership rules without first collecting and analyzing data on how the rule changes could impact media ownership by women and people of color. This comes after multiple media outlets have indicated that an imminent FCC order will relax or eliminate restrictions on certain types of cross-ownership, or ownership of two different types of media outlets in the same market. NHMC is a member of the Leadership Conference and participates on its media and telecommunications task force. NHMC has long been concerned with the relaxation or elimination of media ownership rules. By definition, relaxation or elimination of these limits would allow current owners to own more, decreasing opportunities for new entrants into the market. Based on the limited data that is available, media ownership by Latinos, women, and other people of color, is dismal. NHMC contends that elimination or relaxation of media ownership rules will make it even more difficult for diverse voices to participate. Further, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the FCC to collect and analyze data on the impact of rule changes on diverse ownership prior to changing any rules. "It has been suggested by some media outlets that there is little opposition to the FCC's proposed course of action, particularly within the civil rights and public interest communities. This is simply not true. A number of voices, to include NHMC and the Leadership Conference, have consistently said that the FCC must explore any and all impacts on ownership diversity before moving ahead with any rule changes. The FCC has admitted to not having sufficient ownership data available and should, therefore, not proceed with any rule changes at this time. The fact that the FCC is seemingly poised to barrel ahead despite this significant shortcoming is troubling," said Jessica Gonzalez, Vice President of Policy & Legal Affairs.###
About NHMC: The National Hispanic Media Coalition is a non-partisan, non-profit, media advocacy and civil rights organization established in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. Its mission is to educate and influence media corporations on the importance of including U.S. Latinos at all levels of employment. It augments the pool of Latino talent with its professional development programs. It challenges media that carelessly exploit negative Latino stereotypes. It scrutinizes and opines on media and telecommunications policy issues. Learn more at https://www.nhmc.org. Receive real-time updates on Facebook and Twitter @NHMC.
