He was widely known as a peanut farmer with a gentlemanly demeanor who was elected to the White House in the 1976 U.S. presidential election, defeating Gerald Ford at a time when American democracy was at a fragile state. His single term in office was marred by a second OPEC oil crisis and a fateful decision to grant asylum to the deposed Shah of Iran, resulting in a hostage crisis following a siege of the U.S. Embassy in Teheran. Later in life, he became a champion of housing for all through 39 years of partnership with Habitat for Humanity. And he was remembered for bringing peace between Israel and Egypt.
Now, flags are at half-staff and a National Day of Mourning is scheduled for Thursday, January 9, in honor of the 39th president of the United States. James Earl Carter Jr., known as “Jimmy” to all, has died at the age of 100.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was among the first news organizations to report the death of Jimmy Carter, sharing that the former president passed away at 3:45pm Eastern on Sunday. He had been in Hospice care since February 2023 and is preceded in death by his wife, Rosalynn, who died on November 19, 2023, at the age of 96.
As the former President neared 30 years old, he was a farmer, working in the family business. He then entered politics by running for school board, and then for a post as a Georgia state senator. In 1970, Carter was elected Governor of Georgia, setting him on a path to the presidency some believed to be an unlikely one; he won in the aftermath of the Watergate crisis, which tainted the Republican Party until California’s Ronald Reagan earned the nomination for President in the 1980 election. By then, Carter had been plagued with multiple challenges; his presidency was largely panned for years following his exit from the White House. Among those who voiced criticism in recent years of Carter’s single term in office is President-elect Donald Trump. Yet, he was gracious and conciliatory in posting a tribute to the former leader in a post appearing on the Truth Social platform.
Speaking of Carter, Trump said, “Those of us who have been fortunate to have served as President understand this is a very exclusive club, and only we can relate to the enormous responsibility of leading the Greatest Nation in History. The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude. Melania and I are thinking warmly of the Carter Family and their loved ones during this difficult time. We urge everyone to keep them in their hearts and prayers.”
With many in Washington, D.C., still on holiday, America’s Public Television Stations President/CEO Kate Riley was among the first Inside the Beltway to offer condolences to the Carter family.
“With all of our fellow citizens, we at America’s Public Television Stations mourn the passing of President Carter, whose support for public broadcasting in our early years was instrumental in our development as an important national educational and cultural institution,” Riley said. “His long post-presidency was distinguished by an active and abiding commitment to serve, whether building houses for the poor, eradicating diseases in the developing world or teaching Sunday school. We extend our deepest sympathy to his family, and we celebrate a long life exceptionally well lived.”
CARTER’S LEGACY OF FAIRNESS AT THE FCC
In a March 2023 column for the Cato Institute, Paul Matzko noted that President Carter will have a legacy of serving as the “Great Deregulator.” While much of the deregulation of airlines and, notably, Bell System, came during the first term of Ronald Reagan, Carter is viewed as the person who put together the groundwork for the resulting actions.
But what about broadcast media? Matzko notes, “During the Carter years, the Federal Communications Commission under Chairman Charles Ferris oversaw an unprecedented degree of broadcasting deregulation that ultimately prepared the way for the rise of cable, satellite, and talk radio.”
In 1978, Ferris did much to eliminate rules that had limited the growth of cable TV operators. And, Matzko writes, “He knew nothing about telecommunications except that it needed to be deregulated.”
While taking a “light-touch” approach to regulatory policy has been the hallmark of Republican-led FCCs in recent years, Ferris’ “laissez-faire touch on cable and satellite” was one of two hallmarks of his time leading the Commission. The other, says, Matzko, was “the functional end of the Fairness Doctrine regime.” It had been used until the late 1970s to promote balanced discussion of “controversial issues of public importance,” like politics and current events. However, Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon were accused of using the Fairness Doctrine to silence their political opponents. In Ferris’s view, public interest regulations which failed to improve the market “were nothing but a nuisance.”
Lastly, the Ferris Commission under the Carter Administration “transformed station license renewals into a pro-forma process, thus removing the key mechanism by which the Fairness Doctrine was enforced via public (and often Astroturfed) complaints at renewal time,” Matzko says. “As a result, the Fairness Doctrine became increasingly dead letter after 1977, although it was not formally repealed until 1987, when old radio hand Ronald Reagan vetoed Congress’s attempt to revive the Fairness Doctrine.”
Ferris died on February 16, 2024, and is known for playing a vital role as aide to Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield in enacting the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” legislation.
In 1977 Ferris was nominated by Carter to chair the FCC. With the election of Reagan in 1980, Ferris departed, joining the Mintz law firm as a Name Member. He would establish the firm’s communications practice, and retired in 2013.
What if Carter hadn’t appointed Ferris? Matzko concludes, “If cable had been placed under over-the-air style FCC regulation, we probably wouldn’t be living in the era of peak television. There’d be no Sopranos or Breaking Bad if cable wasn’t allowed to air series. It would’ve crippled the “Home Box Office” and similar channels if newer movies had been banned from cable. There’d be no political commentary shows like Stephen Colbert or The Daily Show under a Fairness Doctrine regime that mandated precisely the kind of ‘fair and balanced’ coverage that those shows were created to parody.”
