Comcast-NBC merger debated in Expo Park
Ariel Edwards Levy | 6-7-2010 | Comments |
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Public hearings began today in South Los Angeles to discuss the proposed merger of Comcast and NBC Universal. Hollywood and Washington, D.C. intersected as members of the House Judiciary Committee set up shop at the California Science Center to hear from a panel including supporters and opponents of the merger. The hearing was part of an extended series of Congressional reviews called before the merger’s fate is decided by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice.
 Panelists address the Judiciary Committee |
Some members, including Chairman John Conyers and southern California representative Maxine Waters, both Democrats, voiced concerns that the merger could have a negative impact on diversity in the media.
“For me, the primary issue is diversity,” said Rep. Judy Chu, whose district covers East Los Angeles. “The lack of minorities on television is both disproportionate and unsettling, and does not reflect our nation’s changing demographics.”
Some panelists said that minorities and women were underrepresented in both companies, and that they had a hard time finding corporate audiences for their work.
“Our stories are wonderful, but you can’t get them in front of people who don’t respond to them,” said Alex Nogales, the president and CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition.
Waters agreed, quizzing audience members from NBC on the numbers of minority show-runners and actors in their fall lineup.
“This is about ownership. This is about programming,” she said. “We have enough confidence to look Comcast and NBC in the eye and say, ‘Not this time.’”
Samuel Kang, the managing attorney of The Greenlining Institute in Berkeley, CA, said the merger would impact diversity in ownership, cost jobs, and limit the number of voices heard.
“The question is: What is the problem with the lack of minority ownership?” he said. “The answer is: there is a direct correlation with the lack of minority programming.”
Kang said the two companies were similar in their previous efforts to dismantle local, minority-focused coverage.
“The proposed marriage is between two corporations with similar modus operandi: to gut, to cut and to strut,” he said.
But Jim Weitkamp, a vice president of Communications Workers of America, said Comcast had a worse track record than NBC.
“Comcast-NBC will lead to the loss of good jobs,” he said. “NBC workers have a collective voice through their union, a right Comcast denies to its employees.”
Stanley E. Washington, the president of the National Coalition of African American Owned Media, said his group was calling for a boycott of Comcast, which he said gave minorities no opportunities to “survive or thrive.”
“If Comcast did not support a network called the Black Family Network, why should black families support Comcast?” he asked.
Not all of the panelists disparaged Comcast’s record on diversity.
Will Griffin, the president of Hip Hop On Demand, said the company had worked with him to get his channel off the ground.
He acknowledged that “history creates a visceral negative reaction to any merger,” but accused other panelists of asking Comcast for too much.
“It’s eons ahead of the advertising, telecommunications and financial services industry.”
No official representative from Comcast attended the hearings.
Paula Madison, NBC Universal’s executive vice president for diversity, acknowledged that her company still had a long way to go, but promised that it would add six new independent cable services over the next three years, half with substantial minority ownership.
“I understand that some members of the committee and a number of my fellow witnesses, many of whom are long-time friends, have questions and concerns about the Comcast-NBC Universal joint venture,” she said. “But as a 20-year veteran of NBCU who continues to work in the industry because I believe in my company, I confident that the commitments Comcast and NBC Universal have made will provide consumers with what they demand: more engaging and diverse content.”
Some opponents of the merger said that if conditions on diversity were attached, it could present an opportunity.
“Comcast does not have the best record, but the past is the past, and we can only concentrate on the present and future,” said Alex Nogales, the president and CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition.
Suzanne DePasse, the chief executive of DePasse-Jones Entertainment, agreed.
“This can be an historic moment for minorities, but only if Comcast decides to take a leadership position…by making meaningful, lasting change,” she said.
(You can read more about the controversy at the LA Wave, or see a full list of today's panelists here.)
Tags: comcast ethnic media media nbc