Newton N. Minow

Newton Norman Minow (January 17, 1926 – May 6, 2023) was an American attorney and former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission.  His speech calling to television as a "vast wasteland" is still used even as the speech has passed its 50th anniversary.

He was the Honorary Consul General of Singapore in Chicago.

Minow was active in Democratic party politics.  He was an influential attorney in private practice concerning telecommunications law and was active in many nonprofit, civic, and educational institutions.

President Barack Obama named him a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom for 2016.

Minow died from a heart attack at his home in Chicago, Illinois on May 6, 2023 at the age of 97.

References

Other websites

 Complete text and audio of the "Vast Wasteland" speech from AmericanRhetoric.com

 American Lawyer "Lifetime Achievement" Award 
 An excerpt from Inside the Presidential Debates: Their Improbable Past and Promising Future
 Newton N. Minow Papers at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research 


Category:1926 births
Category:2023 deaths
Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction
Category:Lawyers from Milwaukee
Category:Activists from Chicago
Category:Democrats (United States)
Category:Businesspeople from Milwaukee
Category:Businesspeople from Chicago
Category:Chairmen of the Federal Communications Commission
Category:Lawyers from Chicago