Freepmail me if you want to join my fairness doctrine ping list.
Posted on 05/16/2009 7:08:17 AM PDT by Delacon
Corporations
Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission’s “Diversity Committee,” chaired by Fairness Doctrine proponent Henry Rivera, made it clear that they were going force the President’s supporters into positions of power within the broadcast industry.
FCC Chairman Michael Copps forcefully denounced the current racial and gender make-up of the broadcast industry and called its lack of diversity “a shameful state of affairs.” Copps then asked the Committee: “Is it any wonder that minorities are so often stereotyped and caricatured and that the positive contributions of the minority community are so often overlooked?”
Copps told Committee members, many of whom represent left-leaning activist groups such as the National Urban League, the Asian American Justice Center and One World Economy: “Be bold. Take these issues and run with them. This is not a ceremonial appointment. This is your chance to make a real and lasting difference. I hope that you will set an aggressive agenda for yourselves and that you will not hesitate to propose aggressive solutions.”
Many in the broadcast industry fear the Committee will do just that, and work to shut down conservative talk radio in the name of “diversity.”
Before handing the microphone to Diversity Committee Chairman Henry Rivera (who, as an FCC Commissioner during the Reagan administration worked to preserve the so-called “Fairness Doctrine”), Copps had strong words for the many who fear the Committee will resurrect Fairness Doctrine-type discrimination and censorship, saying such people are attempting to “deflect this country’s passage to equal opportunity” and their “issue-mongering has no place in twenty-first century America.”
At no time was any mention made of a recent Zogby poll that shows 66% of American voters opposed the creation of advisory committees designed to promote diversity in the broadcast industry.
When it was Rivera’s turn to speak to the Committee, he issued an ominous warning to his fellow colleagues, reminding them: “The public is here and the press is here so you might want to keep that in mind as you formulate your thoughts.” (In other words: Watch what you say and do in public.) So much for the Obama administration’s pledge for open and accountable government.
Rivera’s warning was especially ill-timed, as it came prior to a talk on full disclosure requirements, delivered by FCC Office of General Counsel representative Paula Silberthau, advising Committee members that any communication between them and the FCC regarding rulemaking or legislation must be documented and filed, as required by the “sunshine” requirements of Federal Advisory Committee Act.
At no time did Copps or Rivera explain the process of how members of the committee were selected, or why conservative groups were not represented on the Committee. The O’Leary Report has requested copies of any emails, letter, or phone conversations between Copps and Rivera over the push to force American broadcast corporations to hire more minority employees.
Rivera said that the Diversity Committee would begin making recommendations to the FCC on how to implement a “full file review” of broadcasters, which would require broadcasters to submit reports that include details such as race and gender make-up of their companies. According to the committee, broadcasters will begin submitting race and gender data to broadcasters this November, and then every two years after that.
The Diversity Committee and the FCC would then analyze this data, and according to Rivera, if it is apparent that a “race-neutral” policy approach is not working, “the commission could move into a race-based rulemaking procedure.” In other words, the FCC would establish a quota system for broadcast licensees.
In his bestselling book, “Shut Up, America! The End of Free Speech,” author Brad O’Leary warns that the FCC may look to shorten the broadcast license renewal period from 8 years to 2 years, thus forcing broadcasters to comply with diversity mandates immediately, or jeopardize their license.
ping
Maybe they can force CNN to rehire Bernard Shaw.
Since when does the government choose the staff of the supposedly free press/media?
Sweet! Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin on NBC Nightly News!
If a radio station broadcasts, but no one listens..does it exist?
Maybe we should buy stock in Satelite radio, it may actually take off if this comes to pass.
when the govt chooses the employees of any other private enterprise it wants to control
obama don’t need no steenkin’ Constitution
Just about everyone in the msm is guilty of hate crimes according to the new legislation the congress is trying to enact.
i guess it’s inevitable anyway. A census bureau report was buried but inadvertently reported by NPR to the effect that “white” kids will be a minority by 2020 and whites as a percentage of the population will be a minority by 2037.
During the Lewinski scandal, I believe he was the one who said on the air, quoting a White House source, "This is going to be a F---ing disaster!", or words to that effect. Gee, I wonder who he was quoting? He certainly would bring diversity in many forms, I'm sure.
On TV programs and movies, how often do you see a judge, scientist, computer expert, or police chief who isn't black?
“On TV programs and movies, how often do you see a judge, scientist, computer expert, or police chief who isn’t black”?
Last time I checked, the only group that its still ok to caricature and make fun of are white males(doubly so if they are from the south).
Starting very soon.............
That will have to be our strategy.
“Sweet! Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin on NBC Nightly News”!
I say lets play their game and insist they hire Thomas Sowell and Phyllis Schafly.
Look for radio stations to start hiring “Chief Diversity Officers” who will earn princely salaries for writing memos nobody reads, just to satisfy the melanin police.
Diversity in any radio/television services is accomplished with a simple item:
A DIAL KNOB to change a radio station, and a CHANNEL SELECTOR to change a TV station.
With Cable/direct TV/ and Dish Network offering more than 200 stations, it is hard to convince me that there is no DIVERSITY!!!
Perhaps when GHETTO language is NOT spoken, someone white like myself MIGHT listen to a black person talk.
Even Jesse Jackson Sr still talks like he has a mouth full of marbles, and for the length of time and the opportunities available to him to still talk like and exhibit the body language of a ghetto street gang thug is beyond disgraceful.
I cannot stand hearing ‘axe’ instead of ‘ask’ when people are on camera—or in real life situations.
This is another attempt to put persons into jobs they are not qualified for except based upon their skin color or their heritage.
I EARNED those 4.0 grades in accounting classes in college, and no one was tutoring me nightly so that I could read the book. I never even heard of “grading on the curve” before taking those classes, because my grade and high schools didn’t grade on anything except the 100 basis points system.
No matter- with myself and about 3 others in the class—WE became the 100 point “curve” and those who could not cut it were dropped from the class.
Why would any person running a business want a bookkeeper or CPA that consistently got grades of 50 or below working for them and giving them advice???
What about NPR?
Taxpayers support the bulk of the costs of that crap, and there are no conservatives there, as far as I can tell.
Redistribution of wealth.
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