Television and the Public Interest

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"Television and the Public Interest" was a speech given by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Newton N. Minow to the convention of the National Association of Broadcasters on May 9, 1961. The speech was Minow's first major speech after he was appointed chairman of the FCC by President John F Kennedy. In the speech, Minow referred to American commercial television programming as a "vast wasteland" and advocated for programming in the public interest.


In his speech Minow also shared advice to his audience:


It was a landmark speech for the medium of television, at a time when there were only three networks in the United States and when the realm of television was much less vast than it would later become. Nonetheless, it is counted as one of a hundred best American speeches of the 20th century by several authorities and selected as one of twenty-five 'Speeches that Changed the World' by Vital Speeches.[3] Related writings include his book (co-written with Craig LaMay) Abandoned in the Wasteland: Children, Television, & the First Amendment.

The phrase "vast wasteland" was suggested to Minow by his friend, reporter and freelance writer John Bartlow Martin. Martin had recently watched twenty consecutive hours of television as research for a magazine piece, and concluded it was "a vast wasteland of junk." During the editing process, Minow cut the words "of junk." [4]

Minow often remarks that the two words best remembered from the speech are "vast wasteland," but the two words he wishes would be remembered are "public interest."[5]


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  3. ^ The Best of Vital Speeches of the Day: 25 Speeches That Changed Our World. McMurry. 4 Jan. 2007.
  4. ^ Fallows, James (11 May 2011). "Where the Phrase 'Vast Wasteland' Came From". The Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved 12 May 2011. 
  5. ^ Johnson, Ted (9 May 2011). ""A Vast Wasteland," 50 Years Later". Variety magazine. Retrieved 12 May 2011. 

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