Minow's Viewers: Understanding the Response to the "Vast Wasteland" Address

On May 9, 1961, Newton N. Minow, the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC" or "Commission"), gave what is probably the most famous speech ever delivered by the head of an American regulatory agency. It remains the single most searing indictment of television. Before the National Association of Broadcasters ("NAB"), Minow challenged his listeners to watch television all day, something he had made himself do one Saturday before coming to Washington. "I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland." (1) More than a harsh criticism of television programming, the speech carried the promise of change. Minow reminded his listeners, most of whom operated broadcast stations, that the FCC had the authority to make them alter their programming practices. "[T]he people own the air," he remarked. "For every hour that the people give you, you owe them something. I intend to see that your debt is paid with service." (2) This would not involve censoring specific programs. Minow pledged "no suppression of programming which does not meet with bureaucratic tastes." (3) Rather, the chairman cited the Commission's traditional, if listlessly enforced, policy that stations, when seeking the renewal of their licenses, document their record of public-service programming. "[M]any people feel that in the past licenses were often renewed pro forma. I say to you now: renewal will not be pro forma in the future. There is nothing permanent or sacred about a broadcast license." (4) Minow's address created a sensation. "Your speech is still reverberating," wrote his political mentor, Adlai E. Stevenson, on May 25, 1961, "and your fame growing more rapidly than your troubles!" (5) Indeed, the Chairman's remarks did generate extensive news coverage, far more than the press normally had allotted a regulatory agency the previous eight years. More stories, columns, editorials, and broadcast interviews followed. In fact, in 1961, no other member of the new Kennedy administration, except the president himself, made more television and radio appearances than Minow. The Associated Press's survey of editors chose him as the year's top newsmaker. (6) Such reportage introduced him (and his agency) to millions of Americans, and some 4000 wrote the chairman, most in support of his position. A Commission analysis of the first 2542 communications received indicated that 2049, or 80.6% of those writing, completely agreed with the chairman's sentiments. Only fifty-five dissented. (7) The speech itself had much to do with its impact. FCC Chairmen routinely spoke at the NAB's annual convention. They were bland, forgettable exercises delivered by bland career bureaucrats. James Lawrence Fly, who had chaired the Commission from 1939-44, had attacked broadcasters and radio programming, including soap operas. (8) But Fly had been the great exception. "A bold scout for the New Frontier," wrote a Washington Star columnist, "has broken with a thunderclap through the barriers of do-nothingness which time and official timidity have erected around the independent agencies of the Government." (9) As a political scientist told Minow, "[Y]ou are just about the only Commissioner in years who has openly told the truth in the plain language about the quality of American TV programming. (10) Like Stevenson, the Democratic party's 1952 and 1956 presidential nominee, Minow took public address seriously. (11) Many Americans admired Stevenson for his rhetorical skills more than any other aspect of his candidacy. His speech accepting the Democratic nomination in 1952 was widely praised. Even more noteworthy, however, and relevant to an analysis of Minow's NAB speech, was Stevenson's August 1952 address to the American Legion's national convention. In one of his first major appearances after being nominated, Stevenson faced and chose to challenge a hostile crowd. Most Legionnaires were expected to support Stevenson's Republican opponent. …