Press Release

A group of minority-owned media, civil rights, and public interest groups today filed a petition for rulemaking at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) calling for new data collection and reporting on the diversity of content vendors used by FCC-licensed media and telecommunications companies.  FUSE, LLC, an independent, Latino-owned entertainment company dedicated to empowering young, multicultural voices, led the group that included Common Cause, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, Public Knowledge, and the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry.  The petition proposes establishing a new report that tracks the diversity of content vendors used by FCC licensees, including on traditional platforms like broadcast, cable, and satellite TV, along with affiliated streaming services, like Disney’s Hulu+Live TV and Disney+, Amazon’s Prime, Fox’s Tubi and Alphabet/Google’s YouTube TV.

Today at 2:00 p.m., the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance’s Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight will hold a hearing on current laws and enforcement governing the political activities by tax exempt “dark money” groups. Beth Rotman, Common Cause Director of Money in Politics and Ethics, submitted written testimony to the subcommittee for today’s hearing record, detailing how a lack of enforcement by both the IRS and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has allowed “dark money” groups to evade existing disclosure laws related to political spending.

Today, Common Cause announced Jordan Davis has been named the organization’s Vice President of People, Equity, and Inclusion. Following a national search and participation from every level of the organization, Davis was unanimously selected to lead Common Cause’s work to advance equity and inclusion across its national and state offices.

Staff members of Common Cause Education Fund (“Common Cause”) announced on Friday that they have unionized with Washington-Baltimore News Guild, Local 32035. The announcement was met with the full support and welcome of the organization’s leadership team and board members.

As 2022 congressional races ramp up, Common Cause is again tracking the positions of every Member of Congress on issues vital to the health of our democracy. Members of the House and Senate have received letters asking them to co-sponsor and support at least 15 democracy reform bills and informing them that their voting and co-sponsorship record will be published in Common Cause’s “Democracy Scorecard,” which will be distributed to our 1.5 million members, as well as to state and national media, during the lead-up to Election Day.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court is a victory for the American people at a time when our democracy is under siege. Soon-to-be Justice Jackson has demonstrated a longstanding and unwavering commitment to justice for all Americans. That commitment will be crucial as it has increasingly fallen to the courts to serve as a bulwark to our democracy at a time when too many politicians are passing laws to make it harder for certain Americans – particularly Black and Brown Americans - to vote and to be heard by those in power.