House Passes Diversity Act, Senate To Consider

The House Tuesday passed a bill and a resolution aimed at achieving greater media diversity. The votes on each were 319-105 — they were part of a block vote on a handful of communications-related bills, reports nexttv.com.

H.R. 1754, the MEDIA (Measuring the Economics Driving Investments and Access) Diversity Act, was introduced by Reps. Billy Long (R-Mo.) and Marc Veasey (D-Tex.). If approved by the Senate and signed by President Biden would amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require the FCC to consider market entry barriers for socially disadvantaged individuals in the media industry.

Also passed was a resolution committing the House to work with media entities and others to advance media diversity by developing “common ground solutions to eliminate barriers to media diversity.” Resolutions don't have the force of law but instead express the sense of the House on a subject.

National Association of Broadcasters president Gordon Smith applauded the bills for “promoting solutions that address barriers to entry into the media industry for underserved populations.”