Washington Report

Broadband Wagon Threatens to Leave Blacks Behind

President Obama and Congress have charged the Federal Communications Commission with the task of developing a national broadband strategy by February 17, 2010. The goal is to provide underserved communities with this vital technology and at the same time create scores of new jobs. The commission has held public forums on the issue and invited comment from interested parties.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and five organizations of black elected officials released a report on Tuesday, titled “Broadband Imperatives for African Americans,” which included recommendations to increase its use in minority communities.

“Broadband is the major infrastructure challenge of our generation. It is for us what railroads, electricity, and other universal services were in the past,” said FCC chairman Julius Genachowski, during the release of the report. “[It’s] essential for building businesses and getting jobs.” He also said that the report would be helpful as the agency develops its national strategy.

Long before Google, WiFi, and Blackberry, the term digital divide was coined to describe the gap

between those with and without access to the Internet. Today that divide persists, with blacks lagging behind whites and Hispanics in the adoption and use of broadband at home. A Pew study found that in 2008-09, the rate of growth for blacks, whites and Hispanics increased by 7%, 14% and 21%, respectively. The reasons vary–from cost to availability–but minorities risk losing out on important educational and economic opportunities that can be gained through the use of broadband technology.

The report recommends restructuring the Universal Service Fund, mandated by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to increase national access to advanced telecommunications services to help households pay for broadband; government subsidies for Internet service and hardware; free service for libraries and schools in low-income areas and their surrounding communities; and stimulus funds for digital awareness and broadband literacy campaigns.

“[This] is the first time that African American elected officials have issued a formal statement to the FCC in this area,” said Joint Center president Ralph B. Everett. “As the nation strives for universal access to high-speed networks, these elected and

appointed officials can and will play a vitally important role in ensuring that the great promise of broadband really does deliver progress and opportunity in struggling communities.”

Troubles for Arbitron People Meter

New York Rep. Edolphus Towns, launched an investigation this summer of Arbitron Inc.‘s use of the Personal People Meter, a device used to rate radio audiences across the country.  The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that he chairs had received numerous complaints from minority broadcasters who believed the meter produces inaccurate samplings of the listening preferences of minorities and certain age groups. When Arbitron submitted documentation that he considered insufficient and prohibited the Media Rating Council, which oversees audience measurement services for member clients like Arbitron, to provide its documents to the panel, Towns issued a subpoena to the council.

This week the House panel released a summary of MRC’s findings that there are “persistent problems” with the meter. A summary of the findings Towns released showed that in New York, for example, where the average sample audience is 5400 participants, Arbitron uses 500 recruits to represent more than 4 million ethnic minorities.

“There are some serious problems that we hope we can sit down with them to correct. The sample they’re using is just not adequate and they’re not doing any serious recruiting in minority communities. Minority radio stations are really getting clobbered because their ratings are going down,” said Towns, adding that Arbitron has indicated an awareness that problems exist.

But Arbitron immediately disputed the findings and issued a statement that the company is “extremely surprised and disappointed” by the committee’s “analysis and erroneous conclusions” and that it looks forward to a “fact-based dialogue” to clarify those conclusions.

Hearing Explores Recession’s Disparate Impact on Minorities

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing this week to examine the economic downturn’s effect on minorities, particularly in relation to unemployment and home foreclosures.

“For most racial and ethnic minority groups, the Great Recession is in reality a Great Depression. People of color were worse off before the start of [the] downturn and have been losing their jobs and their homes at a faster rate ever since,” said the committee’s chairman, Rep. Edolphus Towns (N.Y.).

Testimony and an accompanying report from Christian Weller, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress (CAP), on how to level the economic recovery field supported this view. During this recession, which has lasted longer than others, businesses are laying off workers who are facing more difficulty finding new jobs, which in turn impacts foreclosure rates and credit card defaults, now at record highs.

To ensure that minority employment gains match or exceed whites’ Weller recommended investment in the creation of green jobs in low-income communities that will “provide opportunities for advancement and pay good wages” to people without higher education; programs that encourage the pursuit of higher education; and stronger regulations and consumer protections to prevent unfair lending practices.

CAP hosted a conference call on minorities and the recession featuring Weller and representatives from the National Urban League, the National Council of La Raza and the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, which can be heard here.