Memorandum of understandings promise nothing; media mergers require close scrutiny by the FCC for their impacts on Latinas/os

Mergers have become an increasing frequent part of the American media landscape, and alongside this consolidation interest groups have sprung up to challenge them on the grounds of minority representation, In new work, Jason A. Smith and Randy Abreu take a close look at the effects on Latina/o representation of the 2011 merger between Comcast and NBC Universal. They write that while the memorandum of understandings signed by Comcast and Latina/o organizations promised increased minority representation, this has not come to pass in the intervening years. Such voluntary agreements, they write, have no teeth and need to be superseded by greater federal oversight.