*Pages 1--1 from  Microsoft Word - 6087.doc*
 January  16,  2001 
 Statement  of  FCC  Chairman  William  E.  Kennard  Regarding  the  D.  C.  Circuit's  Decision  in  MD/  D.  C./  DE  Broadcasters  Association  v.  FCC. 


 Today’s  decision  is  a  defeat  for  diversity.  At  a  time  when  many  Americans  are  outraged 
 at  the  lack  of  minorities  in  prime  time  and  in  the  boardrooms  of  America,  the 
 broadcasters  have  once  again  used  the  courts  to  strike  down  even  a  modest  outreach 
 effort. 


 Our  most  recent  report  on  the  state  of  women  and  minority  employment  in  the  cable 
 industry  shows  that,  in  this  age  of  consolidation,  women  are  losing  ground  and  minorities 
 are  standing  still.  I  urge  this  Commission  to  continue  to  promote  a  television  industry  that 
 better  reflects  the  rich  diversity  of  the  American  people. 


 Background  information: 
 Today  the  D.  C.  Circuit,  in  a  decision  by  Judge  Ginsburg,  joined  by  Judges  Sentelle  and 
 Henderson,  held  that  the  FCC's  EEO  rule  "put[  s]  official  pressure  upon  broadcasters  to 
 recruit  minority  candidates,  thus  creating  a  race-  based  classification  that  is  not  narrowly 
 tailored  to  support  a  compelling  governmental  interest  and  is  therefore  unconstitutional." 
 The  court  held  that  the  unconstitutional  portions  of  the  rule  could  not  be  severed  from  the 
 remainder  and  thus  vacated  the  rule  in  its  entirety. 


 On  January  20,  1999  the  FCC  adopted  new  EEO  rules  which  reaffirm  the  Commission's 
 long-  standing  anti-  discrimination  rule  and  emphasize  broad  outreach  to  all  qualified  job 
 candidates  for  positions  at  radio,  television  and  cable  companies.  The  Order  prohibits 
 discrimination  on  the  basis  of  race,  national  origin,  religion,  color,  or  gender.  It  leaves  the 
 EEO  docket  open  to  facilitate  the  submission  of  information  relevant  to  employment 
 disparities  in  the  broadcast  and  cable  industries.  The  new  rules  require  broadcast 
 licensees  to  widely  disseminate  information  about  job  openings  to  all  segments  of  the 
 community  to  ensure  that  all  qualified  applicants,  including  minorities  and  women,  have 
 sufficient  opportunities  to  compete  for  jobs  in  the  broadcast  industry. 


 The  new  rules  neither  require  broadcasters  to  hire  any  particular  applicant  nor  apply 
 pressure  on  such  decisions.  The  Commission  also  amends  its  EEO  rules  applicable  to 
 cable  entities,  including  multichannel  video  programming  distributors,  to  conform  them, 
 as  much  as  possible,  to  the  broadcast  EEO  rules.  The  new  EEO  rules  were  challenged  on 
 appeal  by  state  broadcasters  as  being  unconstitutional. 
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