By Janet Murguía
As part of our mission to increase the Latino presence in our nation’s media, NCLR has worked for several months to ensure that the proposed alliance between Comcast and NBCU includes a focus on creating a richer, more diverse media landscape with more opportunities for Hispanic voices and Hispanic businesses.
This past summer, NCLR was part of a coalition of leading national Hispanic organizations which negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Comcast and NBCU. This MOU is unprecedented in scope in the media industry and we believe that there is a commitment on both sides to ensure that the MOU yields real, measurable pro-diversity results.
The uniqueness of this MOU begins with the formation of a new nine-member external Hispanic Advisory Council (“HAC”), whose job is to benchmark the new company's efforts and advise it on how best to realize the new goals outlined by the MOU.
Comcast has agreed to add independently-owned and -operated channels, including no fewer than four of which are owned and/or operated by Hispanics. It has also committed to expand its video-on-demand and online program offerings to the Hispanic community.
Comcast and NBCU will build upon their existing affirmative action plans to increase Hispanic hiring -- from senior management to entry-level employees -- by establishing focus groups to identify potential candidates, developing action plans for increasing director-level representation of Hispanics, committing to having at least one person of color on the slate of every VP-and-above hire, and implementing a “boot camp” for mid-level VP candidates including no less than 80 percent diverse candidates.
Both companies have also committed to continue their company-wide supplier-diversity programs in key sectors such as advertising, construction, information technology, legal services, financial services, office furniture and supplies, and promotion and marketing.
Comcast has also pledged to provide new outlets for Spanish-language and Hispanic-themed English-language programming, including news and public affairs shows. Comcast and NBCU have also committed that the new company’s philanthropic efforts will reflect an even sharper diversity focus. For example, Comcast pledges to work to increase scholarship awards to Hispanic students, and both companies will increase support for internship and scholarship programs with Hispanic-led and Hispanic-serving organizations with proven track records.
And finally, Comcast has also offered to expand diversity in its boardroom, pledging to name a U.S.-based Hispanic to its Board of Directors within 24 months of the deal’s closing regardless of whether a board vacancy becomes available.
The spirit in which Comcast engaged in these thoughtful discussions with leading Hispanic organizations is a strong sign that Comcast and NBCU understand the importance of diversity not just as a social value but as a business philosophy as well. We are confident that the commitments made by Comcast and NBCU will provide important opportunities not only for the Latino community, but for other communities of color as well.
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