Connecticut broadcasters say they are leading a push to get Washington to appoint a seasoned broadcaster to a seat on the Federal Communications Commission.
The Connecticut Broadcasters Association says the last broadcaster to hold an FCC seat was more than a decade ago and that Richard M. Nixon was president when the last broadcaster appointment was made.
The CBA’s board approved a resolution being forwarded to Persident Barack Obama and congressional leaders urging the appointment.
“Although the Federal Communications Commission is involved in a wide range of issues, its most public jurisdiction is over radio and TV,” said Don DeCesare, past CBA chairman and the owner and general manager of WMRD-AM in Middletown and WLIS-AM in Old Saybrook.
“We strongly believe,” DeCesare said in a statement Thursday, “it is vital to the development of sound public broadcasting and telecommunications policy that at least one member of the commission be a person with a deep understanding of the broadcast industry.”
The CBA’s members include more than 150 Connecticut radio stations, television stations, individual Broadcasters and industry companies.
