FCC’s Starks: Diverse Speech is Key Element of Free Speech

By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable Online, 10-8-19

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks says only when the FCC and the nation does more to diversify media voices can broadcasting be said to uphold its responsibilities to the First Amendment and a free press.

That was the gist of his speech at The Media Institute’s annual Free Speech America Gala.

“The First Amendment is not self-executing,” he told his audience. “Preserving its guarantees requires the vigilance of regulators, the media, and the public alike.”

Starks said America’s broadcasters “should look like America,” but that, according to the most recent FCC figures, of the 1,300 full-power TV stations licensed in that America in 2017, only 12 are owned by African Americans.  » Read More