Remarks by Commissioner Mignon L. Clyburn
Public Discussion of Literature Review of Critical Information Needs of the American 
Public and Market Entry Barriers
June 26, 2012
Good morning, everyone. First alIow me express how encouraged I am by the interest in 
today's discussion, which addresses both the critical information needs of the American public as 
well as market entry barriers.  At first glance, these issues may appear somewhat unrelated, but 
as will be affimed during this morning's exchange, they are tightly entwined. I am grateful for 
the incredible work submitted by scholars under the direction of the University of Southern 
California’s Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, and would be remiss if I did 
not thank Chairman Genachowski for his support of this study. 
Today marks an important step for the FCC, as we attempt to fulfill our statutory mandate 
to promote policies favoring a diversity of media voices, vigorous economic competition, 
technological advancement, and promotion of the public interest, convenience, and necessity, in 
addition to identifying and eliminating market entry barriers for small businesses.  This study 
begins the charting of a course to a more effective delivery of necessary information to all
citizens. It holds the promise of enabling them to live safer and healthier lives by highlighting 
any challenges and exploring a host of opportunities for full access to educational, employment, 
information and business opportunities in addition to empowering them in their civic 
involvement. This literature review brings together disparate studies in order to produce a 
holistic overview of the ownership-employment-content relationship as it relates to the impact of 
women and minority participation in ensuring that all groups have their critical information 
needs met.
This study reaffirms what I have long championed – that the FCC must devote more 
attention to meeting the critical information needs of all Americans by breaking down barriers
and thus paving the way for new opportunities.  The Commission must emphatically insist that 
we leave no American behind when it comes to meeting the information needs of those in varied 
and vibrant communities of our nation – be they native born, immigrant, disabled, non-English 
speaking, low-income, or other.  Should another natural or man-made disaster occur, no one 
should be at risk of missing vital information, nor should they ever be denied a chance at 
meaningful and fulfilling employment, or enfranchisement.  When we fail to insist that the 
critical information needs of all Americans are met, we send a message to those un-served or 
underserved communities, unintended or not, that they are not worth as much as those 
communities whose information needs are fully met. This further fuels alienation and isolation.  
To reaffirm, today we will discuss whether there are correlations between the ownership 
of enterprises owned by women, minorities and underrepresented groups to the production and 
distribution of critical information needs.  Diverse voices often bring with them diverse ideas on 
how to reach diverse communities, and the study highlights this, through its first 
recommendation that FCC should devote greater attention to the barrier of under-representation 
of some groups in media ownership and employment.  
It follows that recommendation by admonishing the Commission to recognize that the 
costs of network exclusion are borne not only by the excluded, but by the society at large, and 
increases exponentially with the continued growth and expansion of information and 
communication networks in our society.  My office has continuously fought hard to drive this 
point home in all of the work that the Commission does, and I am eminently pleased to see that 
the importance of our message has been recognized in this report. 
Two final points:  First, I wish to make a plea that this agency and my fellow 
Commissioners continue the often arduous but always worthwhile endeavor of collecting vital 
data like we have here before us today, and that we use this data to inform our relevant 
policymaking decisions with the ultimate goal of ensuring that the information marketplace is 
one that serves all our our citizens optimally. And two, I must thank all of you for making this 
day one of my best at the Commission. 
You are driven, purposed-filled thought-leaders, who are invested in and committed to 
this worthwhile effort.  Dean Wilson, or as one of my staffers calls him, "The Oracle", has a 
long, rich history on these issues and is the perfect captain for this ship.  Mark Lloyd, you are 
incredible, and along with Tom Reed and many others here on whom I rely for guidance, please 
know how enriched we all are by your contributitions to this dialogue and our mission and duty 
to serve. Thank you.