Rules Seek to Add Minorities in Media

Viacom Inc., AT&T; Corp. and other media companies would have to use job fairs and other efforts to recruit women and minorities under rules that mark the government’s third bid to boost diverse hiring.

The rules proposed Wednesday by the Federal Communications Commission would replace standards that were overturned by a court with ones that would require fewer reports for television, radio and cable companies to file and no obligation to collect race and ethnicity data on applicants.

FCC members stressed the importance of encouraging media companies to create diverse work forces while avoiding another setback in court. A coalition of U.S. civil rights groups has asked the Supreme Court to reinstate the old program.

“We have an obligation to ensure against nefarious racial and gender discrimination,” FCC Chairman Michael Powell said at a public meeting. “These rules are not onerous.”

In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated the FCC’s earlier employment rules, which had been an attempt to replace broader requirements struck down in 1998. The court found the revision was still unconstitutional by creating a race-based classification that wasn’t narrowly tailored to support a compelling governmental interest. Under Wednesday’s rule proposal, stations and cable operators would have to make all vacancies broadly available to qualified applicants, including women and minorities, using a specified number of job fairs, internships and other methods. The companies would have to record basic information about their efforts in a file available for public inspection and for the commission to track industry trends. That data wouldn’t be used take enforcement action against the companies.

In addition, companies would have to file a detailed report on recruiting in the middle of their eight-year license term.

Under the previous rules, companies had to file reports every other year after being granted a license.