Catholic Broadcasters Have A Beef With FCC

A trio of Catholic radio networks has filed a petition against the FCC over new requirements that will soon mandate that all U.S. radio and television stations publish information about the race and gender of their employees, according to the Catholic News Agency.

In a 3-2 ruling in February, the commissioners of the FCC reinstated a requirement that radio stations must annually file a document, known as Form 395-B, that lists the race and gender of their employees.

Broadcasters are required to maintain a summary of publicly accessible information known as a public file, with varying requirements among the types of stations regarding what must be contained in the file.

The FCC had not required Form 395-B since 2004, following a 2001 ruling by the ​​U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

In an April 29 complaint filed with the FCC, three Catholic broadcasters — Ave Maria Radio, Armor of God Catholic Radio, and La Promesa Foundation — argued that the new regulations would “adversely affect them as well as all religious broadcasters generally.” 

The FCC in its February ruling introduced a mandate that stations must make the 395-B forms public, because “doing so will ensure maximum accuracy of the submitted data, is consistent with Congress’ goal to maximize the utility of the data an agency collects for the benefit of the public, allows us to produce the most useful reports possible for the benefit of Congress and the public, and allows for third-party testing of the accuracy of our data analyses.”

In their joint complaint, the radio stations argue that the new rule “would advance the interests of the LGBTQ lobby and would chill the religious freedoms … enshrined in the First Amendment of the federal Constitution.”

Mike Jones, vice president and general manager at Ave Maria Radio, called the FCC’s action “pernicious” and said that their attorney offered to file a complaint with the FCC on their behalf and on behalf of the other stations. 

The radio stations’ complaint also argues that the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to soon rule on two cases that could limit the FCC’s ability to make decisions, giving that power instead to Congress.