Broadcaster Minority Hiring Rules Rejected

A federal requirement that broadcasters hire racial minorities was thrown out as unconstitutional by an appeals court Tuesday in a setback for efforts to bring more diversity to radio and TV stations.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the Federal Communications Commission had failed to explain how its equal employment opportunities regulations served the public interest--the standard the FCC used when it adopted the rules in the late 1960s.

Any impact on minority hiring probably wouldn’t be immediate, broadcast attorneys said. But if the ruling stands, it could lead to fewer minorities being employed.

The ruling did not address FCC policies designed to foster employment of women, but broadcast attorneys said it could make those rules vulnerable to legal attack too.

Supporters of the regulations credit them with boosting minority employment in broadcasting over the nearly 30 years they have been in effect.

Currently, 19.9% of all full-time employees in TV and radio are minorities, according to the FCC. In 1971, three years after adoption of the equal opportunity requirements, 9.1% were minorities.

The FCC is reviewing its options to appeal.

“The unfortunate reality in our nation today is that race and gender still matter,” said Bill Kennard, the commission’s first black chairman. “We all benefit when broadcasting, our nation’s most influential medium, reflects the rich cultural diversity of our country.”

The case was brought by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, which operates two noncommercial religious radio stations in Clayton, Mo. The church was appealing an FCC ruling that it violated EEO regulations by making insufficient efforts to recruit minorities.