Statement of Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
May 7, 2023 WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 7, 2023) – Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), released the following statement today regarding the death of Newton Minow, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at age 97. “All of us at CPB and the public media family across the country mourn the passing of Newt Minow, one of public broadcasting’s founding fathers. In his first major speech as FCC chairman in 1961, Newt called commercial television a 'vast wasteland' and advocated for programming in the public interest. His landmark speech is considered one of the most influential American speeches of all time and led to the creation of CPB and PBS and the educational programming and community service that characterizes today’s public media system. “One of the most accomplished lawyers in the nation, Newt was a pioneer in the launch of communications satellites, which led to the global information revolution and the i