ABSTRACT
The Federal Communications Commission has found itself in an odd and unfortunate maze, constructed of legislative mandates, appellate court demands, constitutional considerations, our pathetic public discourse about communication policy, and, the FCC's own shifting regulatory rulings and interpretations. Compounding the FCC's difficulty protecting the free-speech rights of the public against the free-press claims of the broadcasters is the Commission's duty to respect the boundaries of equal protection law. Even into the twenty-first century the US remains mired in a fierce fight over how to address the ongoing legacy of government-sanctioned racism and gender discrimination–a debilitating legacy now embedded in the status quo preserved by FCC regulation. The goal of encouraging greater women and minority participation in the communications industry is understandably seen as one aspect of the battle over "civil rights"–the reach toward equal protection under the law for all Americans.
