FCC chairman tells broadcasters their medium is a 'vast wasteland'

On May 9, 1961, Newton Minow stood before America's most powerful broadcasters and delivered a blistering indictment that would echo for decades. As the newly appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, he challenged an entire industry to justify its use of the public airwaves. His speech would spawn both immediate backlash and lasting reforms, forcing a national reckoning with the medium that was reshaping American culture…