FCC's Copps Receives Newton Minow Award

At the 29th annual Everett C. Parker Awards, Federal Communications Commission member Michael Copps received the Newton Minow award.

As he accepted the award he said, "When I became a Commissioner more than a decade ago, these were the visions and dreams I wanted to help realize. There were -- there are -- those who have disagreed with me, sometimes more than occasionally, but I hope no one ever doubted my desire to make our media as transformative as Everett Parker and Newt Minow knew it could be. So much of their challenge remains. But these are battles not only worth fighting—they are battles essential to fight if we are going to redeem the promise of America. We have come a long way, and many of you in this room have made truly significant contributions to building a better society. But we still have so many miles to go to build the media that democracy requires. Right now, we have too little substance and too much fluff in our media. Democracy is not well-served by fluff. Therein is our challenge -- yours and mine. To take the visions shared with us by Newt Minow and Everett Parker, to build on the progress these giants made, and to work for -- and insist upon -- a media environment that informs us with real news and information, that reflects and encourages our wondrous diversity, and that reinforces our self-government."