New FCC Rules Threaten To Shut Out Women and People of Color From Media Industry

June 4, 2003

"The National Organization for Women strongly opposes Monday's decision by the Federal Communications Commission to re-write the rules governing media ownership," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "This is just another gift to huge conglomerates at the expense of local programming and diverse viewpoints. By the time most people realize what has been taken from the public trust, the consolidation will be complete and it will be too late to undo the damage. Congress must act now to protect free speech and freedom of expression. A.J. Liebling famously said, "freedom of the press is limited to those who own one'—and this level of consolidation jeopardizes that cherished freedom in ways that would have been unimaginable even 20 years ago."

In a 3-2 vote, the FCC instituted "the most sweeping and destructive rollback of consumer protection rules in the history of American broadcasting," according to Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein, who voted against the de-regulation. Of the six rules under review, the Republican members of the FCC voted to maintain one rule, slightly modify another and significantly relax four more. Most notably, a new version of the cross-ownership rules will allow a single corporation to own, in one city, up to three TV stations, one newspaper, eight radio stations, the cable TV system and numerous cable stations. Also, a national TV network may now acquire enough local stations to control up to 90 percent of the national TV audience. The other dissenting commissioner, Michael J. Copps, stated that the June 2 decision bestows upon media conglomerates "unacceptable levels of influence over the ideas and information upon which our society and our democracy so heavily depend."

"Women and people of color already own less than five percent of broadcast media outlets. Our media content is being filtered through five profit-driven corporate giants that care first and foremost about their own revenues and profit," said Gandy. "How much worse can it get? Much worse. The new FCC rules threaten to shut out women and people of color from top-level participation in the media industry and virtually eliminate local programming. Furthermore, the free marketplace of ideas will suffer as the already small number of independent voices in the media wither under concentrated ownership."

NOW has a long history of advocating for media diversity, recognizing its importance to disseminating feminist viewpoints. "For years, NOW has been communicating with the FCC and educating our members about the dangers of media consolidation," said Gandy.

At a final May 27 FCC meeting on the proposed de-regulation, NOW's Vice President Terry O'Neill explained: "Women only won the right to vote in 1920. But that right is meaningless without exposure to a broad range of information —information that will let women know when their rights are at risk and allow them to make informed decisions about their future and the future of this country."

NOW will continue to work to protect "the public interest" in media, ostensibly the job of the FCC. "The people of the U.S. own the airwaves," said Gandy, "and we refuse to cede control to corporate interests." Gandy points out that the FCC is establishing a Federal Advisory Committee to explore opportunities for women and people of color in communication, and NOW has offered to participate in that effort.

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