NHMC Appointed to the FCC's Consumer Advisory Committee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 5, 2015

CONTACT Jessica Gonzalez, NHMC jgonzalez@www.nhmc.org 310-809-2577 (m) 626-792-6462 (o)

NHMC Appointed to the FCC's Consumer Advisory Committee

  WASHINGTON -- Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it appointed the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) to serve on its Consumer Advisory Committee. Michael Scurato, NHMC's policy director, was selected to represent the organization on the Committee. The Consumer Advisory Committee is comprised of nearly 40 representatives of consumer organizations, industry groups, regulators, and academics. Other Committee members include: AARP; Google, Inc.; Free Press; T-Mobile; Common Cause; the New America Foundation, Open Technology Institute; Verizon Communications, Inc.; the Benton Foundation; and the Center for Media Justice/MAG-Net. The Committee's mission is to "make recommendations to the Commission regarding consumer issues within the jurisdiction of the Commission and to facilitate the participation of consumers (including underserved populations, such as Native Americans, persons living in rural areas, older persons, people with disabilities, and persons for whom English is not their primary language) in proceedings before the Commission." One of the first charges of the Committee will be to help the FCC implement its recent Open Internet Order by proposing ways that Internet Service Providers could disclose pertinent information to consumers as required by enhanced transparency rules. The following statement can be attributed to Michael Scurato, policy director of NHMC: "I'm honored to represent NHMC on this important advisory committee with so many distinguished colleagues. It is critical that the FCC consider the impact of its policies on all consumers and continually examine ways to better serve all of our communities. I am looking forward to bringing NHMC's unique perspective to the Committee's deliberations." NHMC has previously served on other FCC advisory committees including the Open Internet Advisory Committee and the Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age. Consumer Advisory Committee meetings will be open to the public and broadcast live at www.fcc.gov/live. The first meeting of the Consumer Advisory Committee will be Friday, June 12 from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time.

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  About NHMC The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) is a media advocacy and civil rights organization for the advancement of Latinos, working towards a media that is fair and inclusive of Latinos, and towards universal, affordable, and open access to communications. Learn more at www.nhmc.org. Receive real-time updates on Facebookand Twitter @NHMC.  ]]>