March, 09 2010, 11:43am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Liz Rose, Communications Director,
202-265-1490 x 32 or lrose@freepress.net
Public Interest and Media Justice Groups Ask FCC to Address Diversity Problem in Media
WASHINGTON
A coalition of media justice and public interest organizations sent
a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius
Genachowski yesterday, calling on the agency to make increased
diversity in the media and broadband communications landscape a top
priority. The groups issued the following joint statement:
"Historically marginalized communities still face countless barriers
to their own members' provision and ownership of communications
services. The Communications Act instructs the Commission to examine
these barriers and take steps to eliminate them. This Commission has
taken strides in this area, yet much work remains to be done to address
persistent and growing digital divides."
"We urge the Commission to implement better data-gathering practices
regarding the ownership of media outlets by minorities and women, and
to examine diversity in pending proceedings at the Commission. For
instance, we ask that extensive studies be conducted regarding the
potential impact of the proposed merger between Comcast and NBC
Universal on the diversity of voices in ownership and programming."
The signatories to the letter include Afro-Netizen; Alliance for
Community Media; Benton Foundation; Professor Angela Campbell of
Georgetown Law; the Center for Media Justice; the Center for Rural
Strategies; Free Press; Main Street Project; Media Access Project;
Media Alliance; Mountain Area Information Network; the National
Alliance for Media Arts & Culture; the National Association of
Hispanic Journalists; the National Federation of Community
Broadcasters; Public Knowledge; Reclaim the Media; Texas Media
Empowerment Project; United Church of Christ Office of Communication,
Inc.; and U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
Read the letter here: https://www.freepress.net/files/Public_Interest_Section_257_Letter.pdf
Free Press was created to give people a voice in the crucial decisions that shape our media. We believe that positive social change, racial justice and meaningful engagement in public life require equitable access to technology, diverse and independent ownership of media platforms, and journalism that holds leaders accountable and tells people what's actually happening in their communities.
(202) 265-1490LATEST NEWS
Groups Sound Alarm Over Trump Plot to Install Nominees Without Senate Approval
"If you're trying to ram through nominees without Senate and public scrutiny, it's a pretty good guess that you have something to hide."
Dec 04, 2024
Dozens of civil rights and pro-democracy organizations teamed up Wednesday to express opposition to President-elect Donald Trump's push to use recess appointments to evade the Senate confirmation process for his political nominees, many of which have glaring conflicts of interest.
The 70 groups—including People For the American Way, Public Citizen, the Constitutional Accountability Center, and the NAACP—sent a letter to U.S. senators arguing that Senate confirmation procedures provide "crucial data" that helps lawmakers and the public "evaluate nominees' fitness for the important positions to which they are nominated."
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Since his victory in last month's election, Trump has publicly expressed his desire to bypass the often time-consuming Senate confirmation process via recess appointments, which are allowed under the Constitution and have been used in the past by presidents of both parties. The need for Senate confirmation is already proving to be a significant obstacle for the incoming administration: Trump's first attorney general nominee, Matt Gaetz, withdrew amid seemingly insurmountable Senate opposition, and Pentagon nominee Pete Hegseth appears to be on the ropes.
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Scholars argue recess appointments were intended as a way for presidents to appoint officials to key posts under unusual circumstances, not as an exploit for presidents whose nominees run up against significant opposition.
The Senate could prevent recess appointments by refusing to officially go on recess and making use of pro forma sessions, but incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has said that "we have to have all the options on the table" to push through Trump's nominees.
"We are not going to allow the Democrats to thwart the will of the American people in giving President Trump the people that he wants in those positions to implement his agenda," Thune said last month.
Trump has also previously threatened to invoke a never-before-used provision of the Constitution that he claims would allow him to force both chambers of Congress to adjourn, paving the way for recess appointments.
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Svante Myrick, president of People For the American Way, said in a statement Wednesday that "if you're trying to ram through nominees without Senate and public scrutiny, it's a pretty good guess that you have something to hide."
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