[Wamvan] "Media Needs of Communities" report excludes women

[Frieda Werden]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Carolyn Byerly <cbyerly at earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 6:44 AM
Subject: [feministmedia] Discussion on new FCC report
To: Feministmedia <feministmedia at yahoogroups.com>




I realize that our Feministmedia list's members are located in numerous
nations.  The following note, which I just posted to another feminist media
list, raises issues that are germane to those of us in the USA and perhaps
will also be of interest to those in other countries, too.  These huge
reports tend to shape policies that have huge implications for women.  My
comments below, FYI and for discussion, as merited.
Carolyn

MY NOTE TO THE WOMEN, ACTION & MEDIA LIST 6/15/11:

This is a request for WAM list members to get involved in generating some
discussion about a report that has great implications for women.

The FCC has now published its 478-page report titled "The Information Needs
of Communities: The Changing Media Landscape in a Broadband Age" (
http://www.fcc.gov/info-needs-communities#download), and it carries not a
single word about women that I can find.  The "media landscape" is examined
by Steve Waldman and his "working group" as if women have no relationship to
these industries or the regulatory mechanisms that govern their operation.
The report is little better with regard to people of color, who merit a
total of 9 pages in the exceedingly short chapter titled "Diversity."  I and
two of my Howard colleagues were called to meet with one of the members of
the working group and to make written input as regards "under-served"
communities, yet I find no evidence that the concerns and information we
provided factored into the production of the report.  The working group also
had access to the extensive numbers of comments that I and others have filed
with the FCC over the years regarding diversity and discrimination against
women and people of color in media ownership, as well as to our research.

This document has already had a major impact on media policy -- e.g., The
report on page 348 recommends that the Fairness Doctrine be repealed, and
immediately on the report's publication last week, FCC Chairman Genakowski
recommended repealing what remains of the Fairness Doctrine in FCC
regulations.  The doctrine was ruled against by the Supreme Court in the
late 1980s (when Reagan followers went after it) but has remained on the
books and has been the source of discussion about how stations utilizing
public airwaves can be compelled to allow access to a range of political
perspectives.  Elsewhere in the report the position is advocated that any
return of a policy similar to the doctrine would chill debate.

The report needs to be read by many of us with the needs of women and people
of color in mind so that we can make public comment in our blogs, letters to
editor, etc.  A discussion in this list would be a perfect place to start.

Carolyn Byerly


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Carolyn M. Byerly, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Journalism
John H. Johnson School of Communications, Howard University
525 Bryant St., NW, Washington, DC, 20059, USA
Tel:  202-806-5121 (O); 240-821-2859 (C)
Email:  cbyerly at earthlink.net;
cbyerly at howard.eduhttp://www.howard.edu/schoolcommunications/journalism
and
Principal Investigator, Global Report on Status of Women in News Media
International Women's Media Foundation
1625 K St., NW, #1275, Washington, DC 20006, USAhttp://www.iwmf.org




-- 
Frieda Werden, Series Producer
WINGS: Women's International News Gathering Service www.wings.org
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