********************************************************                               NOTICE  ********************************************************    This document was converted from  WordPerfect or Word to ASCII Text format.    Content from the original version of the document such as  headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers  will not show up in this text version.    All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the  original document will not show up in this text version.    Features of the original document layout such as  columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins  will not be preserved in the text version.    If you need the complete document, download the  WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available.    *****************************************************************    January 20, 2000                                              STATEMENT OF      COMMISSIONER GLORIA TRISTANI, DISSENTING IN PART                              Re:  Equal Employment Opportunity Rules and Policies (MM 98-204, 96-16)

  One of the primary foundations of our broadcasting policy is promoting  a diversity of viewpoints.  Broadcasting, and especially television, is still the  means by which most Americans get their news and information.  And  children, whose values and self-image are still being formed, spend far more  time with television than with any other medium.   It is simply  unconscionable that a societal force of such reach and impact not be open to,  and reflective of, all segments of the community.         Some question the link between EEO rules and diversity of  programming.  I do not.  While not all minorities or all women share the same  viewpoint, I believe that a broadcast industry that includes minorities and  women would more likely air diverse viewpoints than a homogeneous  workforce.  Congress spoke to this issue in enacting the 1992 Cable Act:         The Committee believes now, as it did in 1984, that increased equal       employment opportunities (EEO) for women and minorities, particularly in       decision-making and managerial positions, '  is a crucial means of       assuring that program service will be responsible to a public consisting of a       diverse array of population groups.'    Similarly, the Supreme Court has affirmed that the Commission's regulation of the  employment practices of its licensees "can be justified as necessary to enable the FCC to  satisfy its obligation under the Communications Act of 1934 . . . to ensure that its  licensees' programming fairly reflects the tastes and viewpoints of minority groups."         I support this item, not because it goes as far as perhaps I would like, but because  the bulk of it goes as far as I think we should in the current legal landscape.  I pray that it  will be enough to create the kind of diversity on the public airwaves that Americans expect  and deserve.      There are parts of today's Order that give me hope.  One particularly ingenious  provision is the "opt in" notification rule under Option A.  Under this rule, minority and  women's organizations, community groups and others can request that they be notified of  any job openings that occur.  This is a clearly race-neutral mechanism that could prove  effective in ensuring that certain segments of the community are effectively notified of job  openings.    Of course, getting the word out is not the same as getting a foot in the door.  The  Option A framework rests on the assumption that equal information will produce equal  opportunity.  We need to watch closely to see if this turns out to be true.  And we need to  continue working on studies that could justify a more race-conscious approach if today's  assumptions prove too sanguine.    One area in which I would have gone further is Option B, where I agree with  Chairman Kennard that we should have required the tracking of interviewee data, and not  merely applicant data.  Interviewee data is clearly superior to applicant data in measuring  whether a broadcaster's outreach efforts are effective in reaching qualified applicants from  all segments of the community.  I am disappointed that a majority of the Commission did  not agree.  I therefore dissent from this part of the Order.                             - FCC -