FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Media Consolidation Leads to a Less Diverse, Less Responsive, Less Responsible Media"
WASHINGTON - This morning, Jessica J. González, executive vice president and general counsel of the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), will testify before the House of Representatives to defend the Federal Communications Commission's authority to promote localism, competition, and diversity in broadcasting and call for strengthened media ownership rules. The hearing, entitled "Media Ownership in the 21st Century," will be convened by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Communications & Technology. The hearing at is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. EST. To view a live online stream of the hearing or access more information, including full list of witnesses and their written testimonies, click here. González's full written testimony is available here. "Media consolidation leads to a less diverse, less responsive, less responsible media," Gonzalez will testify. "In today's media landscape, most TV news, radio programs and newspaper stories do not represent the concerns, culture, and knowledge of people of color and rural people." During her testimony, González will highlight the negative effects that media consolidation and declining diversity over the past two decades has had on Latinos, other people of color and women. She will also stress the importance and uniqueness of broadcasting and explain why media ownership limits remain relevant today. NHMC has long advocated for strong and loophole-free media ownership rules to reduce barriers for Latinos, other people of color and women to own media outlets. As of 2011, despite composing 17% of the U.S. population, Latinos owned only 2.9% of full power commercial television stations, 2.7% of FM radio outlets, and 4.5% of AM radio stations. The hearing comes after the FCC voted earlier this year to commence its 2014 Quadrennial Review of media ownership rules and take action to prevent certain covert consolidation arrangements among broadcasters that do not serve the public interest.
