Ground-breaking Study on Hate Speech to be Revealed

Ground-breaking Study on Hate Speech to be Revealed

Press Conference in Washington set to discuss role of Media in hate speech and hate crimes

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), one of the country's foremost Latino media advocacy and civil rights organizations, announced today that it will host a press conference in Washington, D.C. on January 28th at the National Press Club to discuss three important elements related to hate speech in the media. Alex Nogales, President & CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition will lead the press conference scheduled to begin at 9:30am in the Zenger Room at the National Press Club located at 529 14th Street NW, Washington, D.C. "We are very respectful of the first amendment and free speech, but the hateful rhetoric, particularly against the immigrant minority communities, espoused by irresponsible TV and radio talk show hosts on American airwaves needs to be addressed and today we will present a three-prong strategy to do so," explained Nogales.

First, the NHMC will present preliminary findings of a pilot study to quantify hate speech in commercial talk radio by the UCLA/Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC). The UCLA/CSRC is the premiere Chicano research institution in the nation, generating and overseeing major research projects that follow the highest scientific standards and is headed by Chon Noriega, CSRC Director and also Professor in the UCLA Department of Film, Television and Digital Media. The preliminary research suggests that there are four different types of hate speech directed at vulnerable groups and social institutions perceived to be in collusion with them. "The goal of this pilot study is to develop a sound, replicable methodology using the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) definition of hate speech in order to scientifically quantify hate speech in commercial talk radio," explained Noriega. "We see this effort as establishing a scientific methodology and baseline for larger studies dealing with hate speech in the media."

The NHMC will then present a petition for inquiry into hate speech directed to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), drafted on NHMC's behalf by the Institute for Public Representation (IPR). IPR is a public interest law firm and clinical education program at Georgetown Law in Washington, D.C. It has been collaborating with NHMC and other civil rights groups to address the issue of hate speech while simultaneously respecting First Amendment freedoms. The IPR has undertaken extensive factual and legal research and will file the petition on January 28th, 2009. "We are asking the FCC to open an inquiry to raise public awareness, to collect information about the extent and effect of hate speech, and to explore options for countervailing or reducing the negative impacts of such speech," explained Jessica Gonzalez, an attorney at IPR.

Finally, the NHMC will officially request that the Secretary of Commerce, or in the alternative, Congress, direct the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to update its 1993 report entitled: "The Role of Telecommunications in Hate Crime." The NHMC anticipates that an updated NTIA report using scientific methodologies will determine that there are in fact causal relationships between hate speech on radio and TV and violence against vulnerable groups.

The National Hispanic Media Coalition is a non-profit, media advocacy organization established in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. With statewide chapters across the country, the NHMC works to improve the image of American Latinos as portrayed by the media, increase the number of American Latinos employed in all facets of the media industry, and to advocate for media and telecommunications policies that benefit the American Latino community. For more information, please go to www.nhmc.org or call (626) 792-NHMC (6462).

Source: National Hispanic Media Coalition

CONTACT: Inez Gonzalez of National Hispanic Media Coalition,
+1-213-718-0740, igonzalez@nhmc.org

Web Site: http://www.nhmc.org/

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