Newton Minow 1926-2023

Federal regulators rarely are remembered for their oratorical prowess—or for that matter, remembered at all. Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Newton Minow, delivered a speech still studied in rhetoric courses, including a soundbite that still rings true. It was Mr. Minow, then 35 years old and just on the job, who challenged American broadcasters to gaze upon the “vast wasteland” they had made of the public airwaves, degraded by “a procession of game shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, western bad men, western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence, and cartoons. And endlessly, commercials--many screaming, cajoling, and offending. And most of all, boredom.” Mr. Minow has been using The Speech’s 50 anniversary to raise concerns about today’s media landscape, which, like 1960s television, he believes is falling short of its potential to educate, inform and elevate American societ