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[Commentary] How long should we wait for a regulatory or industry-led initiative to improve media diversity? Despite its mandate under Section 257 of the Communications Act, the Federal Communications Commission has failed to collect and aggregate minority ownership data in a form the public can use. With the exception of tiny glimmers of change in newsroom diversity, hiring, retention and promotion diversity at top media companies is dismal.
Among Diversity Inc.’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity 2012, Cox Communications (#25) and Time Warner (#40) were the only media companies listed. Factoring in companies that are more relevant in a converged media industry, AT&T (#4) and Verizon Communications (#39) were also featured. But there is really not much need to look further than the senior management teams of top media companies, which are overwhelmingly white (Disney, Comcast, News Corporation, Viacom) despite the fact that minorities comprise 27.6 percent of the U.S. population, to see the lack of racial, ethnic and gender diversity among those who control so much of what we see and hear. But the most daunting challenge for policymakers is not to confirm whether these disparities exist—everyone knows they do—it is to address the underlying reasons for the lack of a political impetus to address them. Why don’t we care?
Media Diversity: Why No One Cares
AT&T reached a new tentative agreement with the Communications Workers of America District 3 in wireline contract negotiations for AT&T Southeast (BellSouth Telecommunications). The three-year agreement covers more than 22,000 wireline employees in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and will be submitted to the CWA’s membership for a ratification vote in coming days.
The two sides returned to the bargaining table and reached the new agreement after employees failed to ratify a prior agreement that had been reached in August. The new agreement includes general wage increases in each year of the contract for most employees – 2.25 percent the first year, 2.75 percent the second year, and 3 percent the third year. It includes a 1 percent pension band increase in each year of the contract for most employees. It will upgrade service technicians and outside plant technicians to a new wage scale. It also expands to additional employees a guaranteed job offer provision that provides qualified surplused employees a guaranteed job opportunity with AT&T. It maintains one of the most robust health care plans in the nation, with increases in employee contributions.
AT&T, Communications Workers of America Reach New Tentative Agreement in Southeast Wireline Contract Negotiations
The European Commission is to release a swathe of radio spectrum to give mobile and internet companies more space for rolling out faster fourth-generation (4G) wireless services. The announcement means an extra 120 MHz of spectrum will be available for 4G from 2014 at the latest to try to accommodate a sharp rise in the use of such services on mobile devices. The radio spectrum, used by all wireless technologies for sending and receiving information, is becoming increasingly crowded as mobile demand adds to TV and radio broadcasting in using a resource also needed by emergency services and military telecommunications.
EU boosts radio spectrum for superfast mobile services
Apple has rewritten a court-ordered notice on its UK website that makes it clear that Samsung did not copy Apple's patented tablet design. The new notice is shorter than the original notice that Apple put up on the site last week. It is also lacking the subtle snark of the last notice. And that's just what the British court wants. So now, if you go to the British Apple site, you'll find this straightforward mea culpa from Apple at the bottom of the page: "On 25 October 2012, Apple Inc. published a statement on its UK website in relation to Samsung's Galaxy tablet computers. That statement was inaccurate and did not comply with the order of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The correct statement is at Samsung/Apple UK judgement."
Apple loses the snark, keeps it simple with new Samsung apology
Telecom companies continued to show improvement in their services over the weekend in areas hit by Hurricane Sandy, but challenges remain in some pockets of the hardest-hit spots. Some outages continue as the restoration of commercial power hasn't yet occurred in some areas and infrastructure damage poses hurdles to repairing damaged or unconnected equipment.
The wireless carriers are generally providing public charging stations and other resources; many have provided flexibility for customers to delay paying their bills without risk of a service disconnection. Cellular networks are a collection of individual sites that connect wireless devices to a core, wired network, but they also require power to function. While backup generators and batteries provide some cushion, obtaining fuel and gaining access to the cell sites themselves can make it harder to keep power flowing. Restoring power will help the situation, but some sites are also down because they have no connection to the core network or because equipment is damaged. The wireless carriers have had technicians working on the problems around the clock. Verizon Wireless said 98.1% of its cell sites are working in the area impacted by Sandy.
Telecom service improves in Sandy hit areas, challenges remain
One key factor helps explain why communities ravaged by Hurricane Sandy could not use cell phones to call for help and communicate with the outside world: mobile telephone companies have for years lobbied to kill rules that would have forced them to maintain backup power at their cell phone towers. After Hurricane Katrina knocked out communications along the Gulf Coast, federal regulators proposed that wireless companies have backup power at all cell towers. But the wireless industry sued to block the requirement, saying it would be a financial burden and regulators didn't have authority to impose it. An appeals court later sided with the industry.
Wireless Industry Resisted Calls To Back Up Cell Towers Before Sandy
Less than a week after the storm -- and just three days before Election Day -- New Jersey officials have announced that they will allow those displaced from their homes and first responders to submit their votes by email or fax.
A directive issued by Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno officially designated displaced New Jersey residents as "overseas voters," thus giving them the electronic voting option already available to New Jersey residents serving in the military. In addition, displaced voters and first responders may also vote by provisional ballot at any New Jersey polling location. Voters who opt for an electronic ballot must email or fax an application to their county clerk who will then determine whether the person qualifies for the provision.
New Jersey to Allow Voting by Email (and Fax) for Residents Displaced by Superstorm Sandy
NBC says its benefit concert for Superstorm Sandy victims drew nearly $23 million in donations to the American Red Cross. The hour-long telethon included performances by artists native to the areas hardest-hit by Sandy, including New Jersey natives Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi and Billy Joel of New York's Long Island. Others who took part in the special included Sting, Christina Aguilera, Mary J. Blige, Tina Fey and Jon Stewart.
NBC’s Sandy Benefit Concert Draws $23 Million in Pledges
In the final weekend before Election Day, President Barack Obama was hit with more than $37 million in attack ads; Romney faced less than $1 million in attacks, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Outside spenders dropped roughly $56.3 million on the presidential election on Nov 2-4, with more than two-thirds of the ads being negative, a Center for Public Integrity analysis shows. On all federal races, outside groups spent roughly $73.3 million over the weekend. The biggest outside spender, not counting party committees and traditional political action committees, was the conservative super PAC American Crossroads, co-founded by GOP strategist Karl Rove.
Obama slammed by attack ads in final weekend of campaign
On radio and on his Internet network, the influential conservative pundit Glenn Beck frequently invokes God, religious freedom and the founding fathers, but he does not regularly discuss his own Mormon faith. But in early September, he broke with practice and hosted a special one-hour show, asking his audience, “Does Mitt Romney’s Mormonism make him too scary or weird to be elected to president of the United States?” Beck has not always supported Romney. (“I think he’s an honorable man, but I don’t trust him,” he said last year.) But as perhaps the best-known Mormon after the Republican presidential candidate and a major influence on evangelical Christians, Beck has emerged as an unlikely theological bridge between the first Mormon presidential nominee and a critical electorate. At the same time, Beck’s defense of his and Romney’s shared faith speaks to the long-frayed relationship between evangelical Christians and Mormons and raises the question of whether evangelicals will ultimately put aside religious differences and vote on common conservative issues.
Beck Acts as a Bridge Between Romney and Evangelical Christians