Hispanic Media Coalition lobbies for inquiry on hate speech in media

By Kay B. Day

Rescue pup Rusty may need diversity classes. He always barks at men who wear hats.In a rambling petition a group of activist organizations lobbying as the National Hispanic Media Coalition has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to presumably use taxpayer funds to “examine the extent and effects of hate speech in media, including the likely link between hate speech and hate crimes, and to explore non-regulatory ways to counteract its negative impacts.”

At first glance it seems ridiculous to examine a thesis if the conclusion is foregone—apparently the NHMC believes the link is “likely” so we could probably save everyone a lot of time and money if the coalition just proceeded with whatever protest, endeavor or awareness campaign they choose.

The hate speech petition goes on for 25 pages. The targets are predictable—talk radio, the “cloak of anonymity” some on the Internet use and the current “media landscape ridden with false, misleading, divisive and dehumanizing language, some of which actually rises to the level of incitement to violence.”

The group cites the Southern Poverty Law Center who would probably classify our rescue pup as a purveyor of hate because Rusty barks at men who wear hats.

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Corporate players like Google and AT & T require big debate on Net neutrality

Commentary by Kay B. Day

If you’re not clear about the term ‘Net neutrality,’ don’t feel lonesome. It’s a complicated issue with big corporate players and the government controlling the debate. But decisions and consequences of those decisions about the Internet can have a profound impact on how consumers use the Internet and what content we have access to.

The Libertarian-leaning Center for Individual Freedom calls Net neutrality ‘government’s newest takeover plan’ and ‘corporate welfare for Google.’ 

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FTC news business workshops: Government intrusion on journalism?

The Federal Trade Commission will hold a series of workshops Dec. 1 and 2 themed on the topic "From Town Criers to Bloggers: How Will Journalism Survive the Internet Age?" The workshops were originally scheduled for September. An agenda is forthcoming.  The official release said,

“The workshops will consider a wide range of issues, including: the economics of journalism and how those economics are playing out on the Internet and in print; the wide variety of new business and non-profit models for journalism online; factors relevant to the new economic realities for news organizations, such as behavioral and other targeted online advertising, online news aggregators, and bloggers; and the variety of governmental policies – including antitrust, copyright, and tax policy – that have been raised as possible means of finding new ways for journalism to thrive. Witnesses will include journalists and other representatives of news organizations, privacy experts, direct marketers, online advertisers, academics, new media representatives (such as bloggers and local news Web sites), and consumer advocates.”

Sounds more like a platform for a conference put on by a pro journalism organization.

It is obvious President Barack Obama’s administration will be more engaged with media issues. One example is offered in Chris Carter’s column about Mark Lloyd, the Associate General Counsel and Chief Diversity Officer for the Federal Communications Commission. Judging from his past writings, Lloyd wants to make talk radio more liberal, under the guise of making community broadcasts more (of course) diverse.

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FCC Associate General Counsel appointment re-ignites Fairness Doctrine concerns

by Chris Carter


TUSR contributor Chris Carter is following issues related to Constitutional limits on government intrusion into freedom of speech. As we predicted, the Obama administration appears to ignore limits on government intrusion by appointing a "Chief Diversity Officer" who wants radio stations to pay more fees in the interest of diversity. A tax by any other name would stink the same.--The EditorsDemocrats continually tell America the Fairness Doctrine is dead. But if the threat of the return of government broadcast censorship was truly dead, there would be no need to keep reminding us.

The latest reminder that the threat of the Fairness Doctrine survives, or more accurately its intended result – the destruction of conservative and Christian talk radio—is the appointment of Mark Lloyd as the FCC's new Associate General Counsel and Chief Diversity Officer. Prior to his appointment, Lloyd was a Senior Fellow with the Center for American Progress (CAP), a liberal think tank funded by far-left billionaire George Soros and others. Lloyd was also a broadcast journalist with NBC and CNN – adding another name to a long list of former journalists now working for President Barack Obama's administration.

A look into the past writings of Lloyd shows that he intends to use FCC regulations as a means to redistribute hundreds of millions of dollars from private broadcasters to public broadcasting. While at CAP, Lloyd wrote numerous reports on the Fairness Doctrine. One, The Structural Imbalance of Political Talk Radio, introduces the Fairness Doctrine's 'Trojan Horse' of localism and diversity requirements, and was parroted by Barack Obama during his presidential campaign.

Lloyd wrote in the 2007 report that private broadcasters would be subjected to new regulations that if not met, or if the FCC “could not effectively regulate in the public interest,” would generate an estimated $100 to $250 million in fines.

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