Things McDonald’s Can Teach Us About How to File an FCC Complaint

Posted on March 5, 2009
By Joe Miller |

OK we get it — calling 911 over a McDonald’s incident isn’t an emergency. But if it’s not an emergency, then why does big media need to devote valuable airtime to reporting on this woman’s call to 911, UNLESS they want to draw some strange, tongue-in-cheek reference to black people and fried chicken? I won’t give the perpetrators the dignity of linking to their reports, but here’s a link to the search results.

It’s staggering how under-exposed most media executives are. Rather than reporting on the positive things that are happening in our communities, they often decide that perpetuating stereotypes, on the public airwaves, is somehow in the public interest.

Contrary to what media companies would have you believe (by not reporting on it), you do have a say. The FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau is the office to which you should direct ANY AND ALL COMPLAINTS. You can file complaints here. Their mailing address is:

Federal Communications Commission
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau
445 12th St., SW
Washington, D.C. 20554

Be sure to clearly and concisely state:

The facts.

What you want the FCC to do about it (e.g. enforce the FCC’s EEO rules, promote diversity of ownership, etc.).

The statute that you are filing under. (This seems confusing but it isn’t–all you have to do is say, somewhere in your correspondence, that you are “filing an informal complaint pursuant to 47 C.F.R. s1.41“).

Who you are. In most cases, this would simply mean that you should indicate that you are a concerned citizen of the United States of America.

Rinse, repeat.