The National Association of Broadcasters is highlighting support from several multicultural groups for the idea of easing or eliminating limits on media ownership.
Leaders from the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, MANA – A National Latina Organization, the National Urban League and the Hispanic Federation penned a letter to the FCC advocating for serious changes to current broadcast ownership rules.
“Today’s media ecosystem has drastically changed, and regulations must modernize with the times, specifically by repealing the 39 percent national television cap and modernizing the local television and local radio ownership rules,” the letter reads.
The organizations said the broadcast ownership restrictions put in place in the 1940s are outdated and unfair in the current broadcast climate.
They wrote: “Today, local broadcasters compete with the largest technology companies in the world for audience and advertising revenue. Yet big tech companies operate without any regulations.
“If local broadcasters hope to compete, we need your immediate help to level the regulatory playing field. Otherwise valued local broadcast radio and television programming could disappear entirely.”
The groups said local broadcasting ensures that diverse voices within communities can thrive. “Yet if broadcasters cannot compete on a level playing field, the development of content that is relevant to local communities that promotes diverse viewpoints will also cease to thrive,” per the letter.
The missive is signed by MANA President and CEO Amy Hinojosa, National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts Chairman & Co-Founder Felix Sanchez, National Urban League President Marc Morial and Hispanic Federation President and CEO Frankie Miranda.
This most recent letter is part of a larger push by broadcast interests to overhaul media ownership rules. The NAB says the movement has support from members of both parties.
In March, 73 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), sent a letter to the FCC calling for immediate action to update “outdated ownership regulations” that hurt local TV and radio stations. Also last month, the National Association of Broadcasters challenged the FCC’s broadcast ownership regulations in court.
The FCC is currently undergoing a regulatory overhaul, asking broadcasters to weigh in on ways the commission can improve regulatory practices as part of its “Delete, Delete, Delete” initiative.
[Related: “FCC Moves to Clarify Foreign Ownership Rules“]
