“Stay there without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit-and-loss sheet or rating book to distract you, and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland.”
Those words have, perhaps unfairly, are how many have defined Newton Minow‘s two-year tenure as Chairman of the FCC during the Kennedy administration some 60 years ago.
Now, many across the D.C. legal community and broadcasters, too, are paying tribute to Minow, who has died of a heart attack at the age of 97.
Minow’s passing came on Saturday at his Chicago home, according to his daughter.
Minow, whose term came ahead of that of an individual considered to be the father of digital television — Dick Wiley — was a U.S. Army Sergeant in World War II. Following the war, he attended Northwestern University Law School, and in 1952 became an assistant counsel to Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson. Thanks to that experience, he campaigned for John F. Kennedy in 1960. With JFK’s win, and Illinois a key state for Kennedy, Minnow won the FCC’s Chairman role.
Minow departed the Commission in June 1963, more than two years after a speech — interestingly enough — delivered exactly 62 years ago. On May 9, 1961, during a NAB convention held in Washington, D.C., Minow uttered his “vast wasteland” speech.
Yet, Minow is responsible for the “All-Channel Receiver Act,” which mandated a UHF tuner be placed on every television set manufactured for sale in the U.S. This is said to have helped foster the birth of educational television stations in many parts of the U.S. Minow is also responsible for the birth of telecommunications satellites. The “Equal Time Rule” for political candidates is also a Minow-era regulatory policy.
After his time at the FCC, Minow served as a managing partner of Sidney Austin LLP, a Chicago-based firm where he would rise to Senior Counsel in 1991, after 15 years. He joined Sidney Austin in 1965, after a two-year run overseeing Encyclopedia Brittanica.
At Sidney Austin, he recruited Barack Obama to work as a summer associate. This was in 1988; he met his wife, Michelle, while at the law firm. In fact, Minow inadvertently said hello to Michelle and Barack on what is said to be their first date — going to see “Do The Right Thing” at a movie theater.
Minow’s link to the Obamas would continue through his presidency. Minow’s great-nephew, Adam Frankel, was an Obama speechwriter.
Speaking with RBR+TVBR, Dick Wiley said, “Newton Minow was a wonderful man and a great FCC Chairman. He leaves behind a memorable legacy in the communications field. I knew Newt from my days in Chicago and as a fellow Northwestern Law Alum. He was the very first person to contact me when I was named FCC General Counsel, and with kind and expert advice. He was always a friend to all of us who served at the FCC.”
