In advance of the November election, Univision Communications and a civil rights group stepped up a campaign to create an additional forum for presidential candidates to address issues important to Latinos and African Americans — and to get a person of color into the presidential debate schedule.

This week, the Commission on Presidential Debates selected Jim Lehrer of PBS News Hour, Bob Schieffer of CBS News, Candy Crowley of CNN and Martha Raddatz of ABC News as moderators for this fall's debates among candidates for president and vice president.

"It has long been the practice of the television industry to avoid putting people of color in front of the camera for fear of running afoul of ... mass market concerns," Ralph B. Everett, chief executive of the civil rights group Joint Center for Political and Economic Studios, wrote in a letter Thursday to Janet H. Brown, executive director on the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times.

The calls for an additional presidential debate moderated by (and aimed at) minorities escalated on Friday.

Ralph B. Everett, the chief executive of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a research and analysis center that focuses on the socioeconomic status of blacks and other minorities, sent a letter to Janet H. Brown, executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates. He urged her to reconsider the commission’s rejection of a plea by Univision to stage a presidential debate moderated by its own Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena, or another host of Hispanic origin.

“It has long been the practice of the television industry to avoid placing people of color in front of the camera,” Mr. Everett wrote. He said he hoped the commission would embrace Univision’s proposal “by adding more debates to the calendar.”

Read more at nytimes.com.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies supports AT&T’s campaign against texting and driving. The It Can Wait campaign provides statistics, stories, and experiences to create a clear picture of the consequences of texting behind the wheel. Ultimately, It Can Wait reminds drivers, particularly teenage drivers, that sending or receiving one simple message while driving can forever change their lives and the lives of those around them.

As an organization focused on issues surrounding people of color, we are well aware that African Americans and Latinos are some of the heaviest consumers of mobile technology in America. We believe programs like It Can Wait are crucial to keep these communities abreast of safety concerns involving their devices, especially behind the wheel. We applaud AT&T for its efforts to educate Americans on the dangers of texting and driving.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, one of the nation's leading research and public policy institutions and the only one whose work focuses primarily on issues of particular concern to African Americans and other people of color, has named Dr. John B. Horrigan to head its Media and Technology Institute, which is a hub for research on how minority Americans use media, broadband and other emerging communications technologies as avenues of advancement.

Dr. Horrigan, who for nine years was Associate Director for Research at the Pew Internet & American Life Project, recently served on the Federal Communications Commission's team that developed the National Broadband Plan (NBP), where he created the research agenda for the Plan's digital inclusion elements.  He also designed and conducted the FCC's first national survey on broadband adoption and usage, the findings of which were highlighted in the NBP's first working paper.

Read more at Yahoo News, Marketwatch, and the Sacramento Bee.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, one of the nation’s leading research and public policy institutions and the only one whose work focuses primarily on issues of particular concern to African Americans and other people of color, has named Dr. John B. Horrigan to head its Media and Technology Institute, which is a hub for research on how minority Americans use media, broadband and other emerging communications technologies as avenues of advancement.

Dr. Horrigan, who for nine years was Associate Director for Research at the Pew Internet & American Life Project, recently served on the Federal Communications Commission’s team that developed the National Broadband Plan (NBP), where he created the research agenda for the Plan’s digital inclusion elements.  He also designed and conducted the FCC’s first national survey on broadband adoption and usage, the findings of which were highlighted in the NBP’s first working paper.
 

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition and the Citizenship Education Fund will hold their 41st Annual Conference, entitled A More Perfect Union: Closing the Gap and Expanding the Tent, from July 11 to 14, 2012 in Chicago, IL.

Media and Technology Institute Director Joseph Miller will participate in a panel on minority media ownership, "Can We Keep Hope Alive?," on Friday, July 13, from 10 to 11:30 AM CT.

For more information, visit the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

WASHINGTON, DC – The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies today announced that it is the new convener of the National Technology Adoption Advisory Council (NTAAC), the bipartisan leadership forum of more than 120 municipal and state elected officials, and that the two organizations will synchronize their efforts to expand access to technology and support sustainable broadband initiatives across the nation.

Since it was founded in 2011, NTAAC’s mission has been to provide policy and legislative guidance, and to empower local and state government leaders in their effort to leverage broadband to improve the lives of their constituents – particularly in providing greater access to the power of the Internet to drive workforce development, education improvement, economic growth, and healthcare accessibility.

Led by Co-Chairs Councilman Johnathan F. Austin of Birmingham, AL, and Michigan State Representative Maureen L. Stapleton of Detroit, NTAAC was launched in April 2011 as an extension of One Economy Corporation’s comprehensive campaign for advancing community based broadband adoption and deployment.  NTAAC’s founder at One Economy, BMaynard Scarborough, will continue to provide administrative direction as the Executive Director of Government Affairs & National Engagement at The Joint Center.

Given the potential of mobile broadband to play an outsized role in reducing the burden of chronic disease in communities of color, policymakers and healthcare institutions should seek to facilitate its use among minorities, according to a report released today by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.  

The report, “Minorities, Mobile Broadband and the Management of Chronic Diseases,” is part of a long-term research effort by the Joint Center Health Policy and Media and Technology Institutes aimed at improving the health and well-being of people of color, particularly by addressing the geographic, financial, cultural and linguistic barriers to quality health care and to specialty treatment.

The report can be found here.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is pleased to share an important new report, Minorities, Mobile Broadband, and the Management of Chronic Diseases, prepared by the Joint Center Media and Technology Institute and the Health Policy Institute with support from the UnitedHealth Group Foundation. This report considers the vast potential of mobile broadband technologies to help address some of the nation’s most pressing health concerns, and therefore is relevant and timely for policymakers’ consideration as the federal government implements the Affordable Care Act.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Media and Technology Institute will bring together thought leaders, industry representatives, and policymakers to focus on the recommendations from a White House privacy white paper and how its recommendations affect vulnerable populations, including youth, seniors, low-income citizens and people of color.