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 JOINT  STATEMENT  OF  COMMISSIONERS  MICHAEL  J.  COPPS  AND  JONATHAN  S.  ADELSTEIN 
 APPROVING  IN  PART  AND  DISSENTING  IN  PART 
 Re:  Review  of  the  Commission’s  Broadcast  and  Cable  Equal  Employment  Opportunity  Rules  and  Policies,  Third  Report  and  Order  and  Fourth  Notice  of  Proposed  Rulemaking 


 We  support  the  readoption  of  annual  employment  reporting  forms.  The  Commission  has  an  obligation  under  the  Act  to  collect  these  data  from  broadcasters  and  MVPDs.  The  Commission  uses  this 
 information  to  ascertain  industry  trends,  report  to  Congress,  and  respond  to  inquiries  from  Congress,  while  it  has  made  clear  that  it  will  not  use  these  data  to  screen  renewal  applications. 


 We  are  concerned,  however,  that  today’s  decision  prolongs  the  actual  filing  of  the  data  by  seeking  additional  comment  on  whether  we  can  or  should  modify  our  procedures  to  collect  the  data  confidentially. 
 We  recognize  that  some  may  believe  additional  comment  is  necessary  out  of  an  abundance  of  caution.  We  believe,  however,  that  given  the  fundamental  importance  of  this  information,  additional  comment  is 
 not  needed.  The  Commission  has  never  sought  this  information  under  a  pledge  of  confidentiality.  In  fact,  broadcasters  have  filed  these  employment  forms  for  decades  knowing  that  the  Commission  would  make 
 the  information  available  to  the  public  for  inspection.  Later,  when  Congress  adopted  requirements  for  MVPDs,  it  required  that  their  forms  be  made  available  for  public  inspection  at  their  offices.  This  is  a 
 strong  indication  of  Congress’s  desire  that  these  forms  be  publicly  accessible. 
 We  are  also  concerned  how  a  change  in  policy  to  make  this  information  confidential  could  affect  the  work  of  the  Commission’s  Advisory  Committee  on  Diversity  for  Communications  in  the  Digital  Age. 
 This  Committee’s  express  purpose  is  to  create  opportunities  for  minorities  and  women  to  advance  to  managerial  positions  and  participate  in  new  and  emerging  technologies  in  the  communications  sector. 


 In  addition,  although  not  specifically  addressed  in  today’s  Order,  we  also  express  our  concern  about  the  manner  in  which  the  Commission  has  implemented  the  EEO  rules  it  adopted  in  November 
 2002.  In  that  Order,  the  Commission  emphasized  its  commitment  to  examine  and  act  upon  licensee’s  compliance  with  our  EEO  rules  at  license  renewal  time.  The  Commission  stated  that  it  would  audit  five 
 percent  of  all  licensees  each  year  in  order  to  monitor  compliance  with  our  rules.  Yet,  even  as  this  Order  is  adopted,  the  Commission  has  yet  to  conduct  a  single  audit.  This  issue  takes  on  added  importance  because 
 we  are  in  the  middle  of  a  license  renewal  cycle.  It  now  appears  that  the  Commission  is  beginning  some  type  of  audit  procedure.  We  support  full  implementation  of  the  steps  outlined  in  our  November  2002 
 Order.  Equal  employment  opportunity  is  an  essential  part  of  the  obligation  to  serve  the  public  interest.  Broadcasters  and  multichannel  video  programming  distributors  should  draw  upon  the  strength  and 
 vibrancy  that  flows  from  the  diversity  of  the  American  people. 
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