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| ⚫ | '''Newton Norman Minow''' (born ], ]) is an ] ] and former ] official best known for his ], given to the ] convention on ], ]. The speech was extremely critical of ] broadcasters for not doing more, in Minow's view, to serve the public interest. At the time Minow was chairman of the ], after his appointment by ]. Minow has also been active in ] politics and is an influential attorney in private practice concerning ] law. | ||
| {{wikify-date|January 2006}} | |||
| ⚫ | '''Newton Norman Minow''' (born ], ]) is best known for his ], given to the ] convention on ], ]. |
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| ==Life and career== | |||
| He also wrote the regulations requiring TVs to receive both ] and ], which was important in the creation of public television. | |||
| ⚫ | Minow served in ] as a ] sergeant in the ]-] theater. After graduating from ] Law School, Minow became a law clerk to Chief Justice ] of the ] and then assistant counsel to ] ]. | ||
| ⚫ | He was also chairman of ] and its predecessor, ]. He is a recent past-president of the ], an influential PBS sponsor, along with the ]. He has been chairman of the ] corporation and a trustee of the ]. He is a life trustee of Northwestern University and the ]. He co-chaired the 1976 and 1980 ] and is a director of the ]. He has been on numerous ] commissions and is chairman of a special advisory committee to the ] on protecting civil liberties in the fight against ]. | ||
| During ], Minow served as a sergeant in the US Army in the China/Burma/India theater. | |||
| ⚫ | He is the ] professor emeritus at ], as well as the author of four books and numerous professional journal and magazine articles, and the recipient of 12 ]. His wife, ], serves on the boards of many community organizations, including the ]. He has three daughters, all lawyers: ], ] ] and , ], ] law professor, and ], a ] law expert. | ||
| ⚫ | |||
| ==Criticism and evaluation== | |||
| ⚫ | He |
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| Minow became one of the most controversial political figures of the early 1960s for his scathing ] of commercial television. His appointment to the FCC was itself something of a surprise, because he had little experience at the time in telecommunications. He did enjoy a close personal relationship with ], which was seen as crucial to his appointment. | |||
| While some applauded his "vast wasteland" assault on commercial television as a welcome criticism of excessive ] and frivolity on the small screen, others condemned or ridiculed it as an ], ] attack on programming that many viewers enjoyed. In a telling bit of ], the S.S. ''Minnow'' of the ]–] television show '']'' was named for him to express displeasure with his assessment of the quality of television. | |||
| ⚫ | He is the Walter Annenberg |
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| Minow did foster two significant initiatives that altered the landscape of American television. The first was the All-Channel Receiver Act (1962) which mandated ] reception capability for all ] sold in the U.S. This legislation sparked an increase in the number of ] and helped the ] network achieve completely national coverage. He also promoted what ultimately became the International Telecommunication Satellite Consortium (]). This organization controlled ] for many years. | |||
| ==Trivia== | |||
| The S.S. ''Minnow'' of the ]–] television show '']'' was named for him to express the producer's displeasure with his assessment of the quality of television. | |||
| ==Books== | ==Books== | ||
Revision as of 13:31, 12 April 2006
Newton Norman Minow (born January 17, 1926) is an American attorney and former government official best known for his "Vast Wasteland" speech, given to the National Association of Broadcasters convention on May 9, 1961. The speech was extremely critical of television broadcasters for not doing more, in Minow's view, to serve the public interest. At the time Minow was chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, after his appointment by John F. Kennedy. Minow has also been active in Democratic party politics and is an influential attorney in private practice concerning telecommunications law.
Life and career
Minow served in World War II as a U.S. Army sergeant in the China-Burma theater. After graduating from Northwestern University Law School, Minow became a law clerk to Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson of the U.S. Supreme Court and then assistant counsel to Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson.
He was also chairman of Public Broadcasting Service and its predecessor, National Educational Television. He is a recent past-president of the Carnegie Foundation, an influential PBS sponsor, along with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He has been chairman of the RAND corporation and a trustee of the Mayo Clinic. He is a life trustee of Northwestern University and the University of Notre Dame. He co-chaired the 1976 and 1980 presidential debates and is a director of the Commission on Presidential Debates. He has been on numerous presidential commissions and is chairman of a special advisory committee to the Secretary of Defense on protecting civil liberties in the fight against terrorism.
He is the Walter Annenberg professor emeritus at Northwestern University, as well as the author of four books and numerous professional journal and magazine articles, and the recipient of 12 honorary degrees. His wife, Josephine Baskin Minow, serves on the boards of many community organizations, including the Chicago Historical Society. He has three daughters, all lawyers: Nell Minow, shareholder activist and movie critic, Martha L. Minow, Harvard law professor, and Mary Minow, a library law expert.
Criticism and evaluation
Minow became one of the most controversial political figures of the early 1960s for his scathing criticism of commercial television. His appointment to the FCC was itself something of a surprise, because he had little experience at the time in telecommunications. He did enjoy a close personal relationship with Robert Kennedy, which was seen as crucial to his appointment.
While some applauded his "vast wasteland" assault on commercial television as a welcome criticism of excessive violence and frivolity on the small screen, others condemned or ridiculed it as an elitist, snobbish attack on programming that many viewers enjoyed. In a telling bit of sarcasm, the S.S. Minnow of the 1964–1967 television show Gilligan's Island was named for him to express displeasure with his assessment of the quality of television.
Minow did foster two significant initiatives that altered the landscape of American television. The first was the All-Channel Receiver Act (1962) which mandated UHF reception capability for all television sets sold in the U.S. This legislation sparked an increase in the number of television stations and helped the ABC network achieve completely national coverage. He also promoted what ultimately became the International Telecommunication Satellite Consortium (Intelsat). This organization controlled satellite communications for many years.
Books
- Abandoned in the Wasteland: Children, Television, and the First Amendment (ISBN 0809015897)
- Presidential Television (ISBN 0465062741)
- For Great Debates: A New Plan for Future Presidential TV Debates (ISBN 0870782126)
- A Digital Gift for the Nation (with Larry Grossman) (ISBN 0870784668)
- Equal Time: The Private Broadcaster and the Public Interest (AISN B0007DZB86)
External links
- Text of the "Vast Wasteland" speech
- Spoken word recordings of Newton Minow
- "Newton Minow" - biography at Museum of Broadcast Communications