For Immediate Release
March 25, 2003

March 24, 2003

The Honorable Michael K. Powell
Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of 2002 Biennial Regulatory Review - Review of the Commission's Broadcast Ownership Rules and Other Rules Adopted Pursuant to Section 202 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 -- MB Docket No. 02-277

Chairman Powell:

On behalf of UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc., a coalition representing the four largest journalism organizations of color in the United States, we hereby request that the Federal Communications Commission delay its plans to promulgate new rules this spring on regulation and ownership restrictions of broadcast media in the United States.

UNITY, representing more than 7,000 journalists of color, is concerned that the process of revising these rules, while having allowed for written public comment, has not provided ample opportunity for people at the local level, particularly in communities of color, to offer input.

We hereby request that, in the interest of ensuring a broader and more diverse dialogue on this complex matter, you schedule and publicize a series of hearings nationwide to allow the public to comment on and more fully understand the ramifications of revising rules that have the potential to substantially reshape the nation’s new media industries.

We believe the public’s interest is paramount since it has the most at stake in any future changes within the news media, and it is our position that convening a single public hearing for public participation does not adequately serve the public good.

Chairman Powell, you have expressed that the rule changes will be among the most sweeping ever when it comes to the news media, and it is clear that they have potential to affect thousands of jobs, including many held by journalists of color, and to affect the presentation of news and information disseminated to millions of American viewers, listeners and readers.

The UNITY alliance organizations are concerned that interested groups, especially those representing minority communities and their constituencies at the local level, have not had sufficient time or ability to influence the process. Further, we believe more time is needed to study the issue to ensure that consolidations will not reverse gains made toward making the news media workforce more diverse, and that they do not skew coverage, particularly in communities of color.

Our concerns follow an erosion of representation of people of color in major parts of the broadcast media industry. According to the 2002 annual survey by the Radio and Television News Directors Association, the representation of people of color in local broadcast newsrooms declined from 24.6 in 2001 to 20.6 in 2002. We remain concerned about the diversity at the national level, as well, but similar data is not available for the networks, since they do not participate in the RTNDA annual census. It is widely acknowledged, however, that the networks have made little progress on this front, and no measures under FCC rules now address this lack of diversity.

At its recent meeting in Fort Worth, UNITY’s board of directors overwhelmingly approved a motion directing an ad-hoc committee to analyze the pending rule changes and recommend a course of action to the full board.

We also join in the request made earlier this year by UNITY alliance partners NAHJ (The National Association of Hispanic Journalists) and NABJ (The National Association of Black Journalists), calling for a delay in the process.

UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. represents more than 7,000 members of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) and the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA). Member organizations jointly gather every five years for a national convention, with the next to be held August 4-8, 2004 in Washington D.C.

UNITY’s mission is to work to ensure fair and accurate news coverage of communities of color, and ultimately, the changes the Commission is preparing to make should work toward that goal as well. As such, we offer our expertise in diversity of the news media as a resource for the FCC on this matter.

Thank you for consideration of this request.

Respectfully submitted,

Ernest R. Sotomayor
President, Board of Directors
UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc.

UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc.
1601 North Kent Street Suite 1003
Arlington, Va. 22209
703 469-2100
email at info@unityjournalists.org

cc: Commissioners Kathleen Q. Abernathy; Michael J. Copps; Kevin J. Martin; Jonathan S. Adelstein

About UNITY: Journalists of Color
UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. is a strategic alliance advocating news coverage about people of color, and aggressively challenging its organizations at all levels to reflect the nation’s diversity. UNITY, representing more than 10,000 journalists of color, is comprised of four national associations: Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Native American Journalists Association.

In addition to planning the largest regular gathering of journalists in the nation, UNITY develops programs and institutional relationships that promote its mission. For more information on UNITY, visit www.unityjournalists.org, email info@unityjournalists.org or call (703) 854-3585.