On May 18, 2017, NHMC joined 34 civil and human rights groups in submitting comments to the U.S. State Department proposed policy of collecting additional information from immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants who have been determined to warrant additional scrutiny.

The comments address how (1) the proposed collection excessively burdens visa applicants as vague and overbroad; (2) the information that is captured will be difficult to interpret and the process will chill free expression; (3) these vetting procedures are likely to be applied disproportionately to Muslim applicants; and (4) based on data from the last 30 years there is no evidence that foreign visitors pose a significant threat to the U.S.

Read the full comments here.

The post NHMC Joins 34 Civil and Human Rights Groups in Comments Urging the Department of State to Abandon New “Extreme Vetting” Initiatives appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

NHMC joined Free Press and five other civil rights organizations in a request for judicial review of the FCC’s decision to reinstate the UHF discount. We have urged the Court to vacate or reverse the UHF Reconsideration Order for several reasons.

First, the FCC conceded that the original justification for the UHF discount has disappeared. At its inception, the UHF discount was designed to allow smaller networks to merge without violating media ownership limits and prevented larger broadcasters from monopolizing the media market. The FCC eliminated the UHF discount in 2015 because UHF stations are now equal, if not superior, to VHF stations. Nevertheless, the FCC recently voted to restore this outdated provision without reversing the previous findings that it was obsolete and failed to provide any independent policy support.

Second, the FCC also stated that it should have considered the UHF discount in conjunction with a proceeding to reevaluate the 39% national ownership cap. However, the FCC lacks the statutory authority to make any such modification to the national ownership cap. As we await judicial review, a grant of stay at the FCC would protect and promote the public interest by placing a hold on acquisitions that would have otherwise violated the media ownership cap rules due to the UHF discount. As stated in the stay petition, “Maintaining a diversity of voices goes to the heart of the Commission’s mission to promote competition and diversity.”

Please click here to see the Petition for Stay Pending Judicial Review filed at the FCC and here for the Petition for Review filed at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

The post NHMC Joins Several Civil Rights Organizations in Filing Petition for Judicial Review Challenging the FCC’s Decision to Reinstate the UHF Discount appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

On May 26, 2017 NHMC along with Free Press, Office of Communications, Inc. of the United Church of Christ, Prometheus Radio Project, Media Mobilizing Project, Medial Alliance, and Common Cause filed an emergency stay motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to prevent the Federal Communications Commission from implementing its decision to reinstate the outdated UHF discount. After oppositions to the stay motion were filed, the groups filed a reply to the oppositions on June 7, 2017.

Reinstatement of the UHF discount will allow broadcasters to underestimate the true reach of broadcast companies, thus exceeding the 39 percent national audience-reach cap set by Congress. The stay is critical to preventing further media consolidation while the Court waits to hear the appeal later this year.

The groups are represented by the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown University Law and are currently waiting on the Court’s decision.

To read the full Emergency Motion for Stay Pending Review filed May 26, 2017 click here.

To read the full Reply in Support of Emergency Motion to Stay filed June 7, 2017 click here.

The post NHMC Joins Several Civil Rights Organizations in Filing Emergency Motion for Stay Pending Review of the FCC’s Decision to Implement the Outdated UHF Discount appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

On June 15, 2017, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, of which NHMC and more than 200 national organizations are a part of, filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requesting that the Commission preserve advance notification and customer education requirements as providers upgrade the nation’s infrastructure. Switching from copper-switched wireline to fiber and wireless networks is an important innovation, but relaxing consumer protections will harm low-income and rural communities, including Latinos and other people of color.

The Leadership Conference urged the FCC to protect these especially vulnerable users. We also reiterated the importance of consumer access to 9-1-1 and other health and safety services while copper line services are unavailable. “The Commission has an obligation to ensure that everyone has access to high-quality, affordable, and reliable voice and high-speed broadband services” during and after the transition.

The post NHMC Joins the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights in Comments Urging the Federal Communications Commission to Protect Consumers During the Transition to Advanced Networks appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

On August 17, 2017, NHMC joined ten other civil rights organization and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights in comments filed at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to strongly oppose proposals to delay or eliminate the broadcast diversity reporting obligations.

The comment highlighted the most recent broadcast diversity data released by the FCC which confirms the continued and severe underrepresentation of women and people of color in broadcasting. “For decades, the Commission’s response to intolerably low minority and female broadcast ownership levels has been woefully inadequate. Delay is particularly inappropriate now because the 2017 data collection will be the first collection after the incentive auction, which will radically change the ownership of local broadcast television stations. As of yet, no comprehensive analysis of the auction’s impact on diversity in ownership is currently available and will, in fact, not be available until the Commission collects the new data.”

The FCC has an obligation to promote diverse media ownership, “a fundamental component of our nation’s communications policy.” To read the full comments, click here.

The post NHMC Joins the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights in Comments to the FCC to Strongly Oppose Any Proposal that Delays or Eliminates Broadcast Diversity Reporting Obligations appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

On August 30, 2017, NHMC filed Reply Comments in the FCC Net Neutrality proceeding on behalf of itself and 72 racial-justice, digital-rights and media groups. The comments urge the FCC to preserve the 2015 Open Internet rules based in Title II of the Communications Act. The Voices Coalition argues that repealing Title II Net Neutrality would disproportionately impact and discriminate against communities of color.

The Commission must preserve Net Neutrality to protect the freedom of people of color on the Internet and preserve vital consumer protections. The Voices Coalition also notes that the FCC must release the 47,000 open Internet consumer complaints and 1,500 ombudsperson documents to the public, allowing time for comment and analysis. Instead of devoting Commission resources to reversing the 2015 Open Internet Order, the Commission should “maintain the classification of broadband Internet service as a telecommunications service and avoid abdicating its responsibility to protect consumers and police Net Neutrality violations.”

To access the full filling, click here.

The Voices Coalition is led by the National Hispanic Media Coalition, Free Press, Center for Media Justice, and Color of Change. The 73 organizations listed below signed-on to the Voices Coalition Reply Comments:

National Hispanic Media Coalition
Free Press
Center for Media Justice
Color of Change
18MillionRising.org
Access Humboldt
Allied Media Projects
Alternate ROOTS
Appalshop
Arts & Democracy
Asamblea de Derechos Civiles
BYP100
Center for Rural Strategies
Center for Social Inclusion
Chinese Progressive Association
Common Cause
Common Frequency
#Cut50
DigiColor
Dignity and Power Now
Dream Corps
Equality Labs
Families for Freedom
Families Rally for Emancipation and Empowerment Forward Together
Generation Justice
Global Action Project
Highlander Research Center
Hollaback!
Human Pictures
Ignite NC
Iguana Films, LLC
Instituto de Educacion Popular del Sur de California (IDEPSCA)
Iraq Veterans Against The War
KRSM Radio
LatinoRebels.com
Line Break Media
Livier Productions, Inc.
#LoveArmy
Martinez Street Women’s Center
May First / People Link; Media Action Center
Media Alliance
Media Mobilizing Project
MPower Change
MomsRising.org
Movement Strategy Center
Native Public Media
Neighborhood Leadership and Organizing Program
New Sanctuary Coalition
Open Access Connections
OVEC – Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition
Parks and Power
People’s Action
PhillyCAM
Presente.org
Progressive Technology Project
Prometheus Radio Project
Race Forward
Radio Bilingue
Rebuild the Dream Somos Un Pueblo Unido
Stop LAPD Spying Coalition
United Church of Christ, OC Inc.
Urbana – Champaign Independent Media Center
Voices for Racial Justice
Washington Peace Center
The Whitman Institute
WFNU Frogtown Community Radio
WITNESS
Working Films
Working Narratives
#YesWeCode

The post NHMC Files Reply Comments on Behalf of the Voices for Internet Freedom Coalition, Urging the FCC to Preserve Title II Net Neutrality appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

Below is a summary of the comment submitted by the Voices for Internet Freedom on July 19th, 2017:

Download (PDF, 998KB)

The post VOICES Comment Summary 7/19/17 appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

NHMC joined Public Knowledge and partner organizations in evaluating whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is fulfilling its statutory obligation to deploy advanced telecommunication capabilities to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion. Unfortunately, the FCC’s Notice of Inquiry attempts to lower the bar to measure access by equating fixed home broadband with mobile broadband, despite its slower speed and reduced reliability.

As stated in the letter, “rural, lower-income, and minority communities, who often lag behind other communities in terms of their access to, and adoption of affordable, high-speed broadband, would be disparately affected.” We urged the FCC to “focus on the changing needs of broadband users and assess the suitability of different technologies.”

To review the Comments, please click here.

The post NHMC Urges the FCC to Do An Honest Assessment of Americans’ Access to Broadband appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

On November 14, 2017 the National Hispanic Media Coalition filed an Application for Review  to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC), Office of the General Counsel seeking review of the letter dated September 14, 2017 stating that the FCC was producing its “final production of documents” in response to NHMC’s FOIA requests filed in early May 2017. In its application, NHMC outlines the series of documents that the FCC failed to produce in response to its FOIA requests. 

Download (PDF, 5.31MB)

The post NHMC’s Application For Review re: FOIA Requests for Net Neutrality Consumer Complaints & Related Documents appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

On November 13th, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, Color of Change, and the National Hispanic Media Coalition, filed comments to the FCC urging them ‘to promptly begin a rulemaking to promulgate effective, up-to-date disclosure regulations for internet communications.’

In a letter regarding the comments, it is said: ‘Persons of color are particulary hurt by the lack of online disclosures because they are more likely to depend on a smartphone to access information about elections and political campaigns. Thus, the Commission should promptly begin a rulemaking to update its rules to ensure adequate disclosure of political advertising and to deter abuses of online political advertising.’

Read the letter below or by clicking here.

Download (PDF, 2.3MB)

The post Comments on Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Internet Communication Disclaimers appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

In December 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a series of proposals that will transform Lifeline, the only federal program that provides a telecommunications subsidy to low-income Americans. Under the proposed changes, approximately 70% of Lifeline participants, who are already struggling with poverty, would have to find new telephone or broadband service providers in markets where choice is already scarce. Other drastic changes to the program include requiring a co-pay for the $9.25 per month subsidy and imposing eligibility limits that would require tracking participants for a lifetime. NHMC is particularly concerned about the far-reaching effects the proposals would have on newly eligible citizens in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands who are still recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria. Fortunately, on January 23, 2018, the FCC granted NHMC’s motion for an extension, ensuring that the people of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have an opportunity to participate in the Lifeline proceeding. The new comment deadline is February 21, 2018. The new reply comment deadline is March 23, 2018.

The post FCC Grants NHMC’s Motion For Extension of Time to Comment on Proposed Changes to Lifeline appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

Download (PDF, 324KB)

The post NHMC Lifeline Comments WC Docket 17-287 02.21.2018 appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

For Immediate Release: February 23, 2018
Contact: Clarissa Corona, communications@nhmc.org, 213.718.0732

Today, the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) filed a Petition for Review in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit challenging the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Restoring Internet Freedom Order recently published in the Federal Register. NHMC is seeking judicial review of the FCC’s Net Neutrality repeal to protect the rights of Latinos and other marginalized communities to speak and be heard online, and will seek a determination by the court that the Order is arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion within the meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act.

NHMC is dedicated to protecting Title II Net Neutrality — consumer protections which have helped Latinos and people of color find economic and educational opportunities online, and provided a platform to organize for change without interference or censorship from Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The FCC’s repeal of these vital consumer protections gives ISPs the green light to slow down or block content and services from websites, effectively silencing Latinos and other voices of color across the Internet.

The National Hispanic Media Coalition released the following statement from Carmen Scurato, vice president of policy and general counsel:

“NHMC is challenging the FCC’s repeal of Net Neutrality in defense of Latinos and other people of color whose access to an open Internet is vital to participation in today’s digital society. Protecting Net Neutrality is about ensuring equal access to the most vital communications tool of the 21st century, which translates into access to jobs, education, healthcare services, entrepreneurial opportunities, the ability to speak and be heard, and organize for social change.”

“Throughout the proceeding NHMC uncovered 50,000 of the FCC’s own Net Neutrality consumer complaints- clear evidence that the 2015 Open Internet Order provided adequate consumer protections. Nonetheless, the FCC charged ahead without considering this key evidence as part of its rulemaking proceeding, a striking violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. NHMC will continue to raise this fatal error in process and will fight in court to reinstate Title II Net Neutrality.”

View the consumer complaints filed under the 2015 Open Internet Order here: http://nhmc.org/foia-release

In May 2017, NHMC sent a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the FCC and ultimately uncovered over 50,000 Net Neutrality consumer complaints excluded from FCC’s analysis in its repeal of the rules. NHMC continues to wait for the documents withheld by the FCC requested through FOIA. However, NHMC commissioned an independent expert report of the Net Neutrality consumer complaints that the FCC was willing to produce. The report found that both consumers and their service providers appear to consider broadband access as a basic stand-alone telecommunications service. To read the full report, click here: http://bit.ly/2z4lFQe

For interviews, please contact Clarissa Corona, at communications@nhmc.org or at 213.718.0732.

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The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) is the media watchdog for the Latino community, ensuring that we are fairly and consistently represented in news and entertainment and that our voices are heard over the airwaves and on the internet.

We exist to challenge executives and influencers throughout the entertainment and news industry to eliminate barriers for Latinos to express themselves and be heard through every type of medium. NHMC works to bring decision-makers to the table to open new opportunities for Latinos to create, contribute and consume programming that is inclusive, free from bias and hate rhetoric, affordable and culturally relevant.

Receive real-time updates on Facebook, Twitter @NHMC and Instagram @NHMC_org.

The post RELEASE: NHMC Challenges the FCC’s Repeal of Net Neutrality Rules in Court appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

Download (PDF, 412KB)

The post The Leadership Conference – Letter to FDIC on Fair Chance Hiring – 3/9/18 appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

On March 19, 2018, the National Hispanic Media Coalition signed on to two comments yesterday opposing any efforts by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to loosen the National TV Ownership Cap. In the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Media/Telecommunications Task Force comments, it is stated that “Not only is the Commission prohibited from changing the National TV Audience Cap, relaxing media ownership limits will further exacerbate already-low ownership diversity.” To read the comments, click here.

In the comments filed by attorneys at the Georgetown Law University Center’s Institute for Public Representation (IPR) NHMC emphasized that, “The FCC lacks authority to raise or eliminate the national television audience reach cap of 39%, but it can, and should, eliminate the obsolete UHF discount. Even if the Commission had the authority to raise or eliminate the cap, it would not serve the public interest to do so.” For the comments filed by the attorneys at Georgetown Law University Center’s IPR, click here.

The post NHMC Signs On To Comments Opposing Any Efforts By FCC to Loosen National TV Ownership Cap appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 18, 2018

CONTACT:
Clarissa Corona
213.718.0732
communications@nhmc.org

The National Hispanic Media Coalition and Free Press Call for Better FCC Disaster Recovery and Preparedness in Puerto Rico

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) and Free Press filled joint comments with the Federal Communications Commission calling on the agency to increase efforts to help Puerto Rico fully recover from Hurricanes Irma and Maria, which devastated the island’s communication infrastructure over six months ago.

In their comments, NHMC and Free Press lifted up the voices of Puerto Ricans living on the island and in the states, who conveyed in their own words how the loss of communications services has impacted their lives.

NHMC and Free Press also called on the FCC to take action by directly engaging Puerto Ricans across the island in the island’s predominant language, Spanish, to learn more about what happened and how to better prepare the telecommunications network to withstand natural disasters in the future.

“The FCC must fully live up to its responsibility to restore and safeguard telecommunications in Puerto Rico,” said Gloria Tristani, former FCC Commissioner and NHMC Special Policy Advisor. “It is imperative that the FCC ensure that the island’s communications systems are resilient and that there is not a total collapse of communications when the next storm hits. The people of Puerto Rico deserve no less.”

The organizations also called on the FCC to abandon efforts to destroy the Lifeline program, which would cause more harm to Puerto Ricans struggling to recover. Approximately 60 percent of eligible program recipients on the island currently receive Lifeline, which subsidizes access to essential communications services.

The full FCC filing is available here.

“The FCC has so far failed to fully engage Puerto Ricans to learn more about how their lives were disrupted and impacted by the communications failure in the wake of the hurricanes,” said Joseph Torres, Free Press Senior Director of Strategy and Engagement. “The FCC needs to seek input directly from the people and communities that were most impacted by this tragedy.”

“After a natural disaster, access to communications are a matter of life and death. In Puerto Rico, we saw how the collapse of the communications system had a calamitous impact on emergency services and locating those in most dire need of basic necessities,” said Carmen Scurato, National Hispanic Media Coalition Vice President of Policy and General Counsel. “As we approach hurricane season the FCC must comprehensively assess what happened in Puerto Rico and put measures in place to mitigate, if not completely prevent the total loss of communications. We cannot allow this to ever happen again.”

Last year, the FCC created a Hurricane Recovery Task Force and opened up a notice of inquiry to examine the impact on the communication infrastructure in the states and territories that were struck by hurricanes. This included Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. But so far, there has been an utter lack of transparency surrounding the Task Force’s activities.

The agency’s central role is to ensure that citizens and residents have access to vital communication services. It has fallen short on its promise in Puerto Rico and should exhaust every opportunity to improve.

NHMC and Free Press call on the FCC to:

• Host roundtables, field hearings and town hall events in Puerto Rico in collaboration with NGOs, government officials, humanitarian organizations and local media. These events should focus on building the essential relationships across sectors to ensure the island fully recovers from the hurricane and to build resilience for future crises;
• Create a collection story tool in English and Spanish to hear directly from Puerto Ricans and conduct extensive outreach to ensure this tool is utilized;
• Significantly increase transparency around the Hurricane Recovery Task Force;
• Terminate its Lifeline proceedings that will destroy the program;
• Publish a detailed report on the impact of Hurricanes Maria and Irma on Puerto Rico and lessons learned; and
• Reopen and adequately staff a field office in Puerto Rico.

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The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) is the media watchdog for the Latino community, ensuring that we are fairly and consistently represented in news and entertainment and that our voices are heard over the airwaves and on the internet.

We exist to challenge executives and influencers throughout the entertainment and news industry to eliminate barriers for Latinos to express themselves and be heard through every type of medium. NHMC works to bring decision-makers to the table to open new opportunities for Latinos to create, contribute and consume programming that is inclusive, free from bias and hate rhetoric, affordable and culturally relevant.

Receive real-time updates on Facebook, Twitter @NHMC and Instagram @NHMC_org.

The post RELEASE: The National Hispanic Media Coalition and Free Press Call for Better FCC Disaster Recovery and Preparedness in Puerto Rico appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

On April 18, 2018, the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) joined the United Church of Christ, OC Inc., Common Cause, and Public Knowledge in reply comments drafted by attorneys at Georgetown’s Institute for Public Representation opposing proposals to raise or eliminate the 39% national cap for broadcast television stations.

The groups stated unequivocally, “The FCC has a responsibility under the Communications Act to ensure that broadcast TV stations serve the public interest, and the public interest in turn, is served by promoting competition, diversity, and localism.”

Current law prohibits a commercial broadcaster’s reach from exceeding 39% of American households. Despite suggestions otherwise, only Congress has the authority to raise the ownership cap. Moreover, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision to reinstate the obsolete UHF discount, which allows broadcasters to discount the calculation of its audience reach, did not serve the public’s interest. Instead, both actions help pave the way for a singular entity to control the narrative in the majority of American households, an outcome that directly undermines the FCC’s stated commitment to broadcast diversity.

The post NHMC Continues to Oppose the FCC’s Efforts to Raise the National Media Ownership Cap appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

On May 25, 2018, the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), and Color Of Change filed comments addressing the FEC’s proposal to update its rules regarding disclosures for digital political ads.

The comments were drafted by Georgetown’s Institute for Public Representation and supported the FEC’s efforts to update disclosure requirements “in response to the dramatic changes in political advertising made possible by the internet and other digital technologies and devices.” Additionally, the comments highlighted how “people of color have been the targets of malicious voter suppression efforts that take advantage of the fact that current FEC disclosure rules are obsolete.”

To read the full comments and specific recommendations, click here.

The post NHMC Files Comments Before the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) to Update Political Ad Disclosure Requirements appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

On May 29, 2018, the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) joined 47 organizations in a letter led by the Brennan Center for Justice opposing the Department of State’s proposal to require visa applicants to provide social media identifiers, telephone numbers, and email addresses used within the past five years. To date, the government has not produced any evidence that social media screening programs work to deter national security threats. This is one of the main reasons why privacy, civil liberties, civil rights, and other civil society groups have consistently opposed the Department’s efforts to use social media to evaluate visa applications.

Advocates remain concerned that if visa applicants are required submit the data requested, they also risk revealing information about their families, friends, and business associates in the U.S. which may be used for purposes beyond those articulated in the Public Notices. As the letter states, “the context in which these policies are being developed – and the methods used to examine what is collected – suggest that they will be implemented in ways that discriminate on the basis of national origin, religion, or ideology.”

Click here to review the letter.

The post NHMC Opposes the Department of State’s Proposal to Use Social Media Identifiers to Evaluate Visa Applications appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.

On June 28, 2018 Carmen Scurato, vice president of policy and general counsel at the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) testified at the Federal Election Commission (FEC) Public Hearing, “Internet Communication Disclaimers and Definition of ‘Public Communication.'” Her testimony reflected on comments filed by Georgetown’s Institute for Public Representation on behalf of NHMC, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, and Color Of Change.

Carmen stated, “the 2016 election exposed social media as the wild west of online communications where some advertisers targeted online communications to inflame racial hatred and divide the voting public. That is why the Commission’s proceeding to eliminate the loopholes left by the 2006-era political advertising rules could not be more critical and more urgent for communities of color. Without disclosure requirements that bring transparency to all online political communications, campaigns will continue to exploit communities of color through voter suppression tactics. People of color are particularly harmed by the lack of comprehensive and effective online disclosures because they are more likely to depend on smartphones to access information about elections and political campaigns.”

Her opening remarks that can be found here.

Comments filed at the FEC on behalf of NHMC, AAJC, and Color Of Change on May 25, 2018 can be located here.

The post NHMC Testifies at Federal Election Commission’s Public Hearing on Internet Communication Disclaimers appeared first on National Hispanic Media Coalition.