CBA Record July-August 2023

Newt Minow and the Public Interest: A Public Service Paragon By First Municipal Division Presiding Judge E. Kenneth Wright, Jr., Circuit Court of Cook County and CBA Record Editorial Board Member

Photo courtesy of Bill Richert Photography

W hat are we living for, Newt Minow would ask, but to serve. Over his lifetime, Newt wore many hats, and his commitment to service lined each one. He served his family, his country, his bar association, and the public through his vast and dedicated participation. While Newt served integral roles in globally recognized law firms, he was a prominent figure in the public sector as well. He served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Fred M. Vinson, worked on presidential campaigns, and chaired the Fed eral Communications Commission. As FCC chair, Newt famously stated that network television was a “vast wasteland.” Addressing members of the National Association of Broadcasters in 1961, he continued, I invite each of you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there, for a day, without a book, without a magazine, without a news paper, without a profit and loss sheet or a rating book to distract you. Keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland. Newt concluded his remarks that evening reiterating his com mitment to service, “Above all, I am here to uphold and protect the public interest.” Based on what I knew of Newt, he would demand we do the same today. I met Newt through a passion we shared, The Chicago Bar Association. I invited him to speak at my early-morning First Municipal Advisory Committee meeting and asked him what he meant when he said, “network television is a vast wasteland.” He replied, “television could do so much good, but the quality of the programming was not good.” The following tributes to Newt speak to his love and devotion to the law and service. The tributes reflect his peers’ and family’s profound respect and admi ration for him.

William Conlon, Sidley Austin LLP (retired); Mediator, CBA Mediation Service: Newt has been correctly described with every superlative; he was a mentor and dear friend. Just being in the room with Newt made you a better person. Craig Griffith, Sidley Austin LLP (retired); Independent Trustee, Bridge Builder: Newt was truly a humble giant. Generous with his time, he was always eager to question, listen, advise, and encour age. Every meeting with Newt left me uplifted and more enlight ened. I am blessed to have known a true American hero. Martha Minow, Harvard Law School: The public side: Newt Minow led a consequential life marked by public service and wise advice to many. He helped launch the Public Broadcasting Ser vice, the Presidential Debate Commission, and engaged in more acts of leadership and advising than are easily named. He served on boards dealing with medicine, education, public policy, and corporate reform. And he received the Presidential Medal of Free dom from Barack Obama. The private side: We who were lucky enough to be in his family know his profound devotion to friends and family members, his ceaseless curiosity about other people and about the world, and his continual generosity and kindness. He made friends with people he met in an elevator, a taxi. The father of my childhood was our jungle gym; he invited us to be critics of early educational TV and of politicians and more. He organized trips to the playground. The father of our teen years listened, asked our views, and made dates to watch Mary Tyler Moore on Saturday nights when no one my age asked me on a date. He and our mother, Josephine Baskin Minow, gave their chil dren the example of a true marriage of equals. Dad loved to tell funny stories, and he laughed the hardest even at his own jokes. He loved, loved, loved his family. We are working to move from grief to gratitude for his extraordinarily meaningful life.

Minow was a 2002 recipient of the CBA’s Justice John Paul Stevens Award.

10 July/August 2023