**Remarks of FCC Commissioner Robert M. McDowell**

**National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts**

**Noche de Gala**

**Renaissance Mayflower Hotel**

**October 2, 2007, 7:00 p.m.**

**As prepared for delivery**

!Buenas noches! ?Como están? Gracias por su invitación de permitirme
hablar aquí. Mí familia tiene una historia muy larga con America Latino.
Cuando era un niño, mí padre vivía en el norte de Mexico en una finca.
Mas tarde, mís padres vivían en el estado de Jalisco en Mexico. Y cuando
yo era un niño, mís padres hablaban en Espanol cuando no querían que
nosotros entendamos lo que ellos necesitaban decirse enfrente di mí, mís
hermanos y mí hermana. Entonces, yo tenía un incentívo de aprender
Español. Sin embargo, el Español que mis padres hablaban es perfecto;
pero mí Español es muy limitado. Por esta razón, voy a hablar en Inglés
esta noche. But my English isn't much better.

Congratulations to Kenny Ortega for being chosen as the recipient of the
Raul Julia Award for Excellence. The award is well-deserved for the
inspiration you provide to all Americans, and especially Hispanic
Americans.

As we all know, the Hispanic community comprises the largest ethnic
minority in the U.S. The power of Latinos -- as a consumer group, a
voting bloc and a creative force -- is growing. Clearly, America has
begun to take notice. My favorite statistic crystallizing this
phenomenon is this: More salsa is consumed in the United States each
year than ketchup! That says it all. A similar trend is making itself
clear in presidential politics too: the highest-rated Presidential
debate of this election cycle, thus far, was broadcast on
Spanish-language television. Nielsen reported that approximately 6
million viewers watched it on Univision.

By sheer luck, my very first vote as a Commissioner involved an
important community within Hispanic America: Cuban Americans and their
relatives in Cuba. I supported the strengthening of the signal for
Television Martí to broadcast messages of hope and freedom into Cuba.
While at the FCC, I have made it a priority to create new windows of
opportunity for the benefit of [all]{.underline} Americans, including
Hispanic Americans. In fact, earlier this year I traveled to Mexico
City, the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world, to try to help
American-produced Spanish language content get on the air in Mexico. It
seems that it's very easy for Latin-American-produced, Spanish-language
content to reach audiences in the U.S. But sometimes when American
companies produce high-quality Spanish-language programming and try to
broadcast it in Mexico, the authorities literally call in the SWAT teams
and pursue criminal prosecution. But if we can resolve this situation,
we can create more jobs for Hispanics in the arts in the
[second]{.underline} largest Spanish-speaking city in the world -- Los
Angeles -- produce the best programming in the world, and distribute it
throughout a free and fair international market! The demand for Hispanic
content is growing exponentially; and no one produces better programming
than Hispanic Americans.

And I applaud the Foundation for expanding career opportunities for
Latinos in all aspects of entertainment and the performing arts. Thanks
in large part to the Foundation, the Latino diversity both in front of,
and behind the camera on mainstream outlets has grown immensely. My
first memory of Latino performers was the classic Western "The Cisco
Kid" with Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carillo. Cisco, and his sidekick
Pancho, were crimefighters -- an unusual positive portrayal of Hispanic
role models in early American TV. And we've come a long way since then.
Decades later, Jimmy Smits took us from attorney Victor Sifuentes on
"L.A. Law" to playing the President Elect on "The West Wing."

With the strides that your members have made, we also have several
Latina leading [ladies]{.underline} on prime time TV, like Eva Longoria
and Eva La Rue. My children can watch "Maya and Miguel" on PBS. By the
way, Jennifer and I are teaching them Spanish, a McDowell family
tradition now in its sixth generation. Last year, we were treated to the
originality and heart of the first season of "Ugly Betty," produced by a
Latina of Mexican descent and a Cuban-American and starring a family
from Mexico, portrayed by actors of Honduran, Puerto Rican and Cuban
descent. Last month, we saw the premiere of "Cane," an epic drama about
a large Cuban-American family that owns a rum and sugar empire,
simulcast in Spanish, and also starring Latino actors representing a
wide range of ethnicities. As a society, we have a terrific opportunity
to educate the American public about the rich cultural heritages of the
different ethnic groups that comprise the Hispanic community. And this
Foundation's mission helps do just that.

More Latinos are also involved in creating, writing and directing TV
programs and movies on the highest level. This year's Academy Award
nominations were dominated by directors Alfonso Cuarón (for "Children of
Men"), Guillermo del Toro (for "Pan's Labyrinth") and Alejandro Gonzalez
Inarritu (for "Babel"), as well as a number of other prominent
Spanish-speaking performers and people behind the movie magic. Latinos
including Nina Tassler (President, CBS Entertainment), Armando Nunez Jr.
(President, CBS Paramount International Television) and Belinda Menendez
(President, NBC Universal International Television Distribution) and
many others also have risen to the highest ranks of network management.

I congratulate the Foundation for the progress it and its members have
made and hope that you will continue your work as pioneers for the next
generation of industry stars, executives and creative talent. I am sure
that the Foundation's scholarships to Latino graduate students pursuing
a career in entertainment, telecommunications and media will ensure that
this movement towards greater diversity continues. I thank you --
particularly the founders of this great organization (Jimmy Smits, Esai
Morales, Sonia Braga, and Felix Sanchez) \-- for your commitment to
giving back to your communities and making America stronger as a result.

I hope that we at the Federal Communications Commission can be of help.
In recent years, we have seen the demand for creative content explode
with technological advances and changes in the industry. The transition
to digital TV will allow broadcasters to produce several streams of
programming where there had been only one. I hope to see
Spanish-language broadcasters expand the local news and information and
entertainment they provide to their local communities by using the
additional channels that spectrum technology can now provide. Advances
in digital radio technology are presenting similar opportunities. I hope
to see that additional space taken up by more Spanish news and talk
radio, like we have seen with ESPN Desportes Radio with Jorge Ramos and
Henan Pereyra, and Tu Vida Es Mi Vida Con Maria Marin. Also, cable
channels have developed incredibly successful original programming to
compete with broadcasters and to serve niche audiences, including the
Hispanic community. We now have MTV Tr3s (Tres) and the movie channel De
Pelicula, for example, offered on tiers of cable and satellite services
aimed toward Hispanic viewers. According to "The State of the American
News Media, 2007," published by the Project for Excellence in
Journalism, Spanish language and other ethnic media are the only major
traditional media sectors with audience [growth]{.underline}.

The emergence of [new]{.underline} media will only increase the demand
for content and provide an incubator for developing new talent. YouTube
and other websites, and do-it-yourself filming technologies, have
created outlets for every tech savvy individual to direct a video or
movie of his or her own. New media also provides the opportunity, on a
less capital-intensive basis, to educate, to organize, and to inform the
Hispanic community about timely and important issues and developments.
News distribution services like Hispanic PR Wire and blogs like
HispanicTips have started down this path. Sites like HispanicSurf.com
are making progress to connect the Latino community. I encourage you to
seek the opportunities that new media is providing.

With these advances and with the goal of promoting diversity in mind,
the Commission is looking at several policy matters. We are currently
reviewing our media ownership rules, which limit the number of
television and radio outlets that can be owned by a single entity in a
market, and which prohibit anyone, including minorities, from owning a
newspaper and broadcast property in the same market. I am concerned that
so few minorities and women [own]{.underline} broadcast outlets and I'm
seeking ideas for solutions that government can provide to promote the
sale of stations to women and people of color.

One idea I endorse is the use of tax incentives, like the tax
certificate program we had for years, which bolstered minority
ownership. This incentive was repealed by Congress in 1995 by an
overwhelmingly bi-partisan vote. And restoring it will take
Congressional action. However, providing the right incentives so that
more minorities can be owners, rather than renters, in traditional and
new media outlets is a laudable goal that will work to the benefit of
all Americans by providing a diversity of views and portrayals. I hope
that we can work together to find ways to help all of us reach that
goal.

Otra véz: gracias para su invitacion. Felicitaciones a Kenny Ortega.
Vayan con Dios, y buenas noches.