August 2014

To speak about increasing Latino visibility in the news, NHMC President and CEO Alex Nogales joined MSNBC president Phil Griffin in a panel on the importance of diversity in leading news outlets at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists’ (NAHJ) annual convention in early August. Read more on our blog. 

In a column on Univision.com, NHMC president and CEO Alex Nogales writes about what’s at stake now that the Internet with a level playing field that we’ve had is now in jeopardy, saying that allowing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to “discriminate would come at a high cost. History has shown that if diverse and dissenting voices can be blocked, they will be.” Read the piece in English on our blog or click here  for the original version in Spanish.

NHMC spoke with NBCNews.com about a recent USC study that confirmed what the Latino community already knew to be true:  Latinos are underrepresented in film. “We are not asking to be included in films, we are demanding! The time has come. The studios should include us in their films because it is simply good business,” NHMC President and CEO Alex Nogales told NBCNews.com. To read the full story, click here.

As summer draws to a close in Washington, DC, NHMC is still hard at work fighting to advance a policy agenda that will benefit Latinos!

On August 26, NHMC filed with the FCC regarding Comcast’s proposed takeover of Time Warner Cable. The deal, which would combine the nation’s two largest cable companies, is valued at over $45 billion dollars and would make Comcast the dominant – and often only – provider of cable television and/or high-speed Internet access in 19 of the top 20, and 43 of the top 50 designated market areas (DMAs). Its completion would make Comcast the cable provider for up to 90 percent of Latino video subscribers nationwide and could have major implications for Latino consumers and content creators alike.

NHMC’s comments urge the FCC to incorporate a number of critical questions on how the acquisition would affect Latinos into its public interest analysis, including an examination of how the acquisition would impact: Latino programmers and Latino-themed content carriage and distribution; pay TV and Internet affordability; data caps, overage fees and usage-based pricing; Comcast’s Internet Essentials program; customer service; business relationships with other multichannel video programming distributors (MVPD); the Open Internet; regional sports networks; and jobs.

To share your thoughts on this transaction with the FCC, click here and be sure the “Proceeding Number” says 14-57.

In early August, NHMC filed comments in the FCC’s once-every-four-years proceeding to evaluate rules that limit the number of broadcast stations that any entity may own in a given metropolitan area and prevent further media consolidation.

In its comments to the FCC, NHMC highlights the deplorable state of Latino media ownership. In addition, NHMC also urges the FCC to: Begin to analyze its own data to determine the impact of its media ownership rules on diversity; set an aggressive research agenda to ensure that it has the necessary tools to take positive steps to promote diversity; and reinstate collection of Equal Employment Opportunity data to measure trends in workforce diversity in the broadcasting industry. NHMC also expressed dismay over FCC suggestions that certain radio ownership limits should be relaxed. NHMC explained that radio substantially contributes to viewpoint diversity, particularly when considering the importance of radio to Latinos as a source of news and information.

These comments come on the heels of NHMC raising this issue with leaders in Congress. Earlier this year NHMC’s executive vice president and general counsel, Jessica J. González, testified before the U.S. Congress’ Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Communications & Technology on this issue. Watch her testimony here.

To submit your thoughts to the FCC concerning whether or not the broadcasters in your area are sufficiently diverse to serve your community’s needs, click here and input ‘proceeding number’ 14-50.

Net Neutrality and the Open Internet

Towards the end of last month, NHMC, representing the Voices for Internet Freedom coalition, joined more than a million other people and filed comments with the FCC on behalf of more than 50 civil rights, human rights, community-based and media organizations urging the FCC to treat ISPs as common carriers and prevent blocking, discrimination, and paid fast lanes online. NHMC et al. also urged the FCC to issue the same protections to consumers, regardless of whether they access the Internet from a home computer or a mobile device. The FCC’s current proposal would exempt mobile Internet access from most rules.

NHMC has continued to share its views with decision makers in DC, particularly FCC and Congressional leadership. NHMC is currently hard at work drafting reply comments, which are due on September 15.

There is still time to make your voice heard on this important issue! To share with the FCC why an Open Internet devoid of discrimination is important to you, click here.

 Now Hiring at NHMC!

NHMC Television Writers Program We received an overwhelming amount of submissions for this year’s NHMC Television Writers Program. Good luck to all the applicants. The final 10 participants will announced on our website in early September.