FCC Plans Historic "TRIBAL PRIORITY" Initiative

Actions Supported by Tribal governments, Native Public Media and National Congress of American Indians

(Washington, DC; Flagstaff, AZ) – In an unprecedented effort to level the broadcasting playing field for Native Americans,  the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) has proposed the creation of a Tribal Priority that will promote the allocation and licensing of new radio stations to provide coverage for Tribal lands.  Native Public Media (“NPM”) and the National Congress of American Indians (“NCAI”) collaborated to support the proposal through Joint Comments and Reply Comments filed in the FCC’s recent regulatory rulemaking.  They hailed the FCC’s proposal as groundbreaking, long needed and overdue. Native Americans have been largely invisible in the broadcasting industry on all levels ranging from media access to control and ownership of broadcast facilities.