No Irish Allowed

November 5, 2008

The FCC is now deciding who will get those minority-owned channels it forced satellite radio companies Sirius and XM to set aside as condition for approving their merger. Ars Technica reports that an Irish-themed Internet radio channel is seeking one of the slots. There's just one problem. The FCC order approving the merger says that the only minorities it will consider for those channels are blacks, Hispanics, American Indians, Asians, and Pacific Islanders. The Irish, apparently, need not apply.