The Federal Communications Commission officially announced a field hearing on barriers to communications financing.
The hearing was referenced by various FCC commissioners at a Minority Media & Telecommunications Council conference in Washington, D.C., Monday, about overcoming barriers to minority participation in the media and getting more access to capital.
The hearing will be held at Barnard College in New York July 29. The conference will be followed by a "breakout session" where attendees will get face time with potential sources of financing.
The commission is billed as an opportunity to "enhance the knowledge of the commission and attendees about: (i) the present state of capital markets as those markets impact ownership diversity in the media and telecommunications industries and, particularly, the success of minorities and women entrepreneurs; (ii) how financing is secured for new, diverse, resource-limited ventures, focusing on actual problems that have been encountered by women and minorities attempting to secure financing for media and telecom deals; and (iii) potential ways the commission can help to facilitate financing opportunities for minorities and women. "
FCC commissioner Robert McDowell put it a tad more succinctly at the MMTC conference Monday, saying that he hoped some deals would get done at the hearing/conference.
No witnesses have been announced.
