Whenever I person had the work during the past six decades to measurement successful connected a captious civilian rights contented connected behalf of Black America and different communities of colour passim the United States, I person not hesitated to talk out. Now is the clip to publically code the urgent contented of adjacent access, diversity, equity, and inclusion of Black-owned media successful our nation’s communications industry.
In this epoch of the planetary digitalization of media and different precocious technological innovations successful the communications industry, Black-owned and different minority-owned media cannot spend to beryllium denied entree to the rapidly evolving manufacture innovations.
The contented contiguous is that Black-owned vigor stations and different minority-owned media businesses should beryllium permitted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to vie reasonably and equitably with ample tv and cablegram stations that geotarget audiences crossed America.
The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) has a strategical confederation with the National Organization of Black-Owned Broadcasters (NABOB) and with the Multicultural Media, Telecom & Internet Council (MMTC). We are each moving unneurotic to guarantee that the FCC volition o.k. a rulemaking alteration that volition alteration minority-owned vigor stations to prosecute successful geotargeting of contented to their audiences. This alteration is indispensable due to the fact that the FCC’s antiquated rules, written forty years ago, don’t springiness vigor stations the accidental to vie successful the existent media environment.
The FCC has arsenic its ngo to modulate “interstate and planetary communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cablegram successful each 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.” The projected rulemaking alteration volition substantially summation the entree to geotargeting by minority-owned vigor stations and different minority-owned businesses that is truthful captious and effectual successful today’s planetary and nationalist media marketplace.
This is different important nationalist civilian rights issue. This is an contented of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Last period I wrote to the FCC to accent this point. I emphasized, “I person spent overmuch of my vocation arsenic a civilian rights person focused connected ensuring that technological developments similar the 1 astatine contented successful this proceeding, assistance each of America, and not conscionable immoderate of us. Too often, I person seen the benefits of technological improvement accrue to the privileged, with small oregon nary payment to disadvantaged communities, including immoderate with which I enactment connected a regular basis.”
I concluded successful the missive to the FCC: “Geotargeting exertion would springiness minority-owned broadcasters an enhanced quality to vie with the larger presumption groups…The exertion would alteration them to amended service their communities with localized content. In addition, for those broadcasters that take to usage this technology, since it is voluntary, they tin springiness minority-owned businesses an affordable outlet for their messages. In short, I present judge that this exertion is beneficial to number communities, including vigor broadcasters, tiny businesses, and the nationalist they serve.”
We callback that President Joe Biden announced, “On my archetypal time successful office, I signed Executive Order 13985 (Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government), which established that affirmatively advancing equity, civilian rights, radical justice, and adjacent accidental is the work of the full of our Government.”
We commend the Biden-Harris Administration frankincense acold successful its archetypal twelvemonth striving to determination the federation guardant connected equity and diverseness matters adjacent during the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the epidemic of partisan politicization of issues and supporting nationalist policies that volition amended and heighten the prime for beingness of each Americans. On this contented of media reform, we anticipation and resolutely telephone for the FCC successful 2022 to beryllium aligned afloat with the authoritative stated commitments of the Biden-Harris Administration to guarantee fairness, equity and diversity.
The projected FCC rulemaking alteration is besides supported overwhelmingly by each of the large nationalist civilian rights organizations including the NAACP, National Urban League, National Action Network, National Council of Negro Women, National Coalition connected Black Civic Participation, National Congress of Black Women, Hispanic Federation, National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, U.S Black Chambers, and galore more.
The clip for the FCC to enactment and to o.k. the projected rulemaking alteration submitted is present due to the fact that it volition assistance to empower each minority-owned vigor and different media businesses.
Millions of Americans, peculiarly from underserved communities, merit and person a cardinal civilian close to person entree and to beryllium included.
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr, is President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and Executive Producer/Host of The Chavis Chronicles (TCC) connected PBS Television Stations crossed the nation. He tin beryllium reached astatine dr.bchavis@nnpa.org.
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