Newton minow letter to presidents in order
Inside the Presidential Debates
Newton Minow&#;s long engagement with the world of television began nearly fifty years ago when President Kennedy appointed him chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. As its head, Minow would famously dub TV a &#;vast wasteland,&#; thus inaugurating a career dedicated to reforming television to better serve the public interest. Since then, he has been chairman of PBS and on the board of CBS and elsewhere, but his most lasting contribution remains his leadership on televised presidential debates. He was assistant counsel to Illinois governor Adlai Stevenson when Stevenson first proposed the idea of the debates in ; he served as cochair of the presidential debates in and ; and he helped create and is currently vice chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has organized the debates for the last two decades.
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Written with longtime collaborator Craig LaMay, this fascinating history offers readers for the first time a genuinely inside look into the origins of the presidential debates and the many battles&#;both legal and personal&#;that have determined who has been allowed to debate and under what circumstances. The authors do not dismiss the criticism of the presidential debates in recent years but do come down solidly in favor of them, arguing that they are one of the great accomplishments of modern American electoral politics. As they remind us, the debates were once unique in the democratic world, are now emulated across the globe, and they offer the public the only real chance to see the candidates speak in direct response to one another in a discussion of major social, economic, and foreign policy issues.
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Looking to the challenges posed by third-party candidates and the emergence of new media such as YouTube, Minow and LaMay ultimately make recommendations for the future, calling for the debates to become less formal, with candidates allowed to question each other and citizens allowed to que
Remarks by the President at Presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
East Room
P.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, hello, hello! Hey! Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Everybody, please have a seat. We’ve got some work to do here. (Laughter.) This is not all fun and games.
Welcome to the White House, everybody. Today, we celebrate extraordinary Americans who have lifted our spirits, strengthened our union, pushed us toward progress.
I always love doing this event, but this is a particularly impressive class. We've got innovators and artists. Public servants, rabble rousers, athletes, renowned character actors -- like the guy from Space Jam. (Laughter.) We pay tribute to those distinguished individuals with our nation's highest civilian honor -- the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Now, let me tell you a little bit about each of them.
First, we came close to missing out on Bill and Melinda Gates' incredible partnership. Because apparently Bill's opening line was, "Do you want to go out two weeks from this coming Saturday?" (Laughter.) He’s good with computers, but -- (laughter.)
Fortunately, Melinda believes in second chances. And the world is better for it. For two decades, the Gates Foundation has worked to provide lifesaving medical care to millions -- boosting clean water supplies, improving education for our children, rallying aggressive international action on climate change, cutting childhood mortality in half. The list could go on.
These two have donated more money to charitable causes than anyone, ever. Many years ago, Melinda's mom told her an old saying: "To know that even one life has breathed easier because you lived -- that is success." By this and just about any other measure, few in human history have been more successful t
A Look at the Presidency with Neil Eggleston and Newt Minow
The Trump administration is constantly in the news but what&#;s going on behind the scenes? In this episode of Planet Lex, host Daniel Rodriguez talks to former White House Counsel Neil Eggleston and former FCC Chairman Newt Minow about their experiences working for past presidents and their concerns about the Trump administration. They discuss the way we elect our presidents, the failings of the media, and whether or not the government is currently experiencing a moment of constitutional crisis.
Newton Minow is senior counsel in Sidley Austin’s Chicago office. In , President John F. Kennedy appointed him chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in
Neil Eggleston is a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. He was White House counsel to President Obama from to
Transcript
Planet Lex: The Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Podcast
A Look at the Presidency with Neil Eggleston and Newt Minow
11/15/
[Music]
Intro: Welcome to Planet Lex: The Podcast of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, with your host Dean Daniel B. Rodriguez, bringing it to you from Chicago, Illinois. Take it away Dan.
[Music]
Daniel B. Rodriguez: Hello and welcome to Northwestern Law’s Planet Lex, podcasting from the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Chicago, Illinois. I am your host, Dean Dan Rodriguez.
I have a very a special treat this morning. I am joined today by two men with incredible careers in public service and they both happen to be Northwestern Law alums, Newt Minow and Neil Eggleston.
Newt served as Commissioner and Chair of the Federal Communications Commission appointed by President John F. Kennedy. He is also a former Chair of the Public Broadcasting Services Board of Governors and is known as the Father of the Modern Presidential Debates.
He was Co-Chair of t
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