Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt announced this afternoon that he will be stepping down from the Commission. Although Chairman Hundt's term does not expire until June 1998, his announcement today will set in motion a process that will probably end his tenure within the next few months.

At a press conference at the FCC, Mr. Hundt noted the Commission's work to "put the power of communications into the hands of every child" as his greatest accomplishment. Also noted as important accomplishments were the FCC's rules of children's television and efforts to win free airtime for political candidates.

Hundt pointed out that since the beginning of the Clinton Administration, 12 million new jobs have been created -- 8 million in the communications industry. Chairman Hundt said he felt lucky to have been asked to serve by President Clinton.

The Chairman said that he has no immediate plans other than writing. He has a title for a work of nonfiction -- So You Want A Revolution -- on bringing competition to the communications industry. Hundt also plans to publish a work of fiction.

Asked of his role at the Commission over the next few weeks, the Chairman said he would continue to be active and be a full voting member: "We're going to see if this duck can fly."

Speaking for the Benton Foundation after the press conference, Andrew Blau said:

"Whether the issue was connecting America's classrooms, paving the way for digital television, or ensuring that universal service would survive into the next century, Reed Hundt has been the best friend the public interest community has had in the Chairman's office for at least a generation - if not longer.

The last four years have been one of the most extraordinary periods for communications since the creation of the FCC itself, yet Chairman Hundt has been a principled voice for fairness and the public interest throughout. His door was open to people and constituencies that hadn't been on the 8th floor before.

He has been smart, took risks, and even dared to be unpopular -- a rare and risky thing in this political town. But his government service has been a true public service, and we will miss his leadership. We wish him the best of luck in whatever he does next."

Taken from the Benton Foundation e-mail listserv on May 27, 1997

The CPP News-Clipping Service is posted to the Benton e-mail lists Monday through Friday. The Headlines are highlights of news articles summarized by staff at the Benton Foundation. They describe articles of interest to the work of the Foundation -- primarily those describing long term trends and developments in communications, technology, journalism, public service media, and regulation. While factually accurate, the often informal tone of the summaries does not represent the tone of the original articles.

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