Contact:  Dr. Michelle Battle (202) 678-6788   Michelle.ncbw@gmail.com

Nancy Harvin  (202) 659-4988nharvin@ncbcp.org

Statement from The Women’s Coalition for Dignity and Diversity In The Media on Planned Hearings Before House Committee on Energy and Commerce

Washington, D.C. – July 12, 2007 – The Women’s Coalition for Dignity and Diversity, a broad coalition of women’s and advocacy groups, expressed regret that the hearing on diversity and dignity planned for July 11th before the Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee has been postponed until September. Congressman Bobby Rush has been instrumental in organizing the hearing that fell through as industry representatives and artists could not fit the Congressman’s invitation into their schedules.

According to Dr. E. Faye Williams, National Chair of the National Congress of Black Women, “This is an issue that is not going away. Women feel very strongly that the messages in some programming have a corrosive effect on the dignity and self-worth of young women. We regret, therefore, the postponement of this very crucial hearing.”
The Dignity and Diversity Coalition appealed to the Subcommittee because it has jurisdiction over interstate and foreign telecommunications including, but not limited to all telecommunication and information transmission by broadcast, radio, wire, microwave, satellite, or other modes, and homeland security-related aspects of the foregoing, including cybersecurity.
Lisa Fager, President and Co-Founder of Industry Ears, a media think tank in Washington, D.C., explains, “Broadcasters use public airwaves, so by law their first priority must be to serve in the best interest of the public; unfortunately, in the age of consolidation this requirement has not been enforced.”

The Women’s Coalition has a broad strategic vision that encompasses legislation, negotiation, public awareness, monitoring of media and entertainment programming, diverse female representation at all levels, advertiser awareness, and economic pressure. The group believes that
there is no one pure solution – fairness in the media is a shared societal responsibility. It also aims to increase the volume of public input into the decisions about media content.

Media Leaders

“We were really looking forward to hearing what the media executives and artists had to say, and believe that this issue is an American problem that all need to come together to address,” said Melanie Campbell, Executive Director and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, who has been serving as ad hoc convener of the group.

To date, the Women’s Coalition has met with the CEOs of Black Entertainment Television (BET) and MTV Networks, but not their parent company, Viacom. Meetings are either scheduled or in the works with top executives at NBC Universal, ABC and CBS. The Coalition’s early efforts have garnered measured success: CBS Radio pulled a list of several dozen offensive songs from the airways. MTV is considering a women’s advisory council. BET has agreed to continuing dialogue. ABC has broadened the list of persons, particularly women of color commentators, considered for its Sunday morning show, This Week with George Stephanopolous.
“While we are encouraged by the steps that some media outlets have taken, we have a long way to go to create the kind of media atmosphere where women are respected as truly equal human beings,” said Kim Gandy, President of the National Organization for Women (NOW). “We look forward to the rescheduling of this important hearing, with full participation from the industry responsible for the degrading portrayals of women and the lack of diversity across the media spectrum.”

The Women’s Coalition for Dignity and Diversity in the Media formed in April 2007 in the wake of “Imus-gate” and is a multicultural, multi-generational group that represents over 40 organizations with more than 11 million members. The group wants to increase public awareness regarding the way women, especially women of color are portrayed in media. They also aim to increase the representation of women as commentators, editors, and writers in the nation’s news departments.