The left's push for so-called DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) policies has reached the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC has voted 3-2 along party lines to reinstate a rule mandating broadcasters track and publicly report the race, ethnicity, and sex of all employees. The Democrat majority on the commission called the rule "critical" for better "understanding of the broadcast industry workforce." But the two Republican commissioners who voted against it argued the rule will only lead to more discrimination in hiring. Commissioner Brendan Carr said the rule will be used by activists to "see businesses pressured into hiring people based on their race and gender."
Jeff McCall, DePauw University media studies professor, calls this unnecessary overreach. "This is another case of cultural activism by the Biden-controlled FCC," he tells KTRH. "The D.C. Court of Appeals suspended earlier versions of this requirement 20 years ago, so I'm not sure why they think they can pull it off this time."
McCall also agrees with Commissioner Carr that this rule is likely to be used in the left's push for diversity hiring. "This really is an attempt to arm-twist broadcasters to hire more minorities and women, and then to publicly shame them if they don't hire enough to suit the FCC," he says.
In its order, the FCC claims this data will only be used to analyze industry trends, and not to enforce Equal Employment Opportunity (EOE) requirements. "I would say to the FCC if you want to analyze industry trends, that's fine, but you can do that with a voluntary survey," says McCall. "You don't need to do this by requiring federal paperwork that is costly and time-consuming for broadcasters."
The National Association of Broadcasters has already signaled opposition to the rule, and more is likely to follow. "Ultimately, I suspect there are some broadcast owners out there who will challenge this regulation in court, and probably win again and have this rule suspended," says McCall. "But in the meantime, the Biden FCC looks righteous by responding to the demands of (left-wing) pressure groups."
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