On November 18, President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following eight individuals to the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
Walter Isaacson, ChairMichael Lynton, MemberSusan McCue, MemberMichael P. Meehan, MemberVictor H. Ashe, MemberDennis Mulhaupt, MemberDana Perino, MemberS. Enders Wimbush, Member
The WH released the following bio notes on the nominees:
Walter Isaacson, Chair, Broadcasting Board of GovernorsWalter Isaacson is President of the Aspen Institute and serves as chair of the board of Teach for America. He is the former Chairman and CEO of CNN and former editor of Time Magazine. Mr. Isaacson is the author of “Einstein: His Life and Universe” and “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life”, and the co-author of “The Wise Men”. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he was appointed vice-chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. Mr. Isaacson is a graduate of Harvard College and Pembroke College of Oxford University.
Michael Lynton, Member, Broadcasting Board of GovernorsMichael Lynton is the Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. He is the former CEO of AOL Europe and Chairman and CEO of Pearson plc's Penguin Group. Mr. Lynton is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the boards of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Rand Corporation. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School and is proficient in French, German and Dutch.
Susan McCue, Member, Broadcasting Board of GovernorsSusan McCue is President of Message Global, a strategic advocacy firm she founded in 2008 for social action campaigns. She was the founding President and CEO of The ONE Campaign to combat extreme global poverty, and before that was Chief of Staff to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from 1999 to 2006. She also is currently Vice Chair of Humanity United. A New Jersey native, Ms. McCue is a graduate of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., with degrees in economics and journalism.
Michael P. Meehan, Member, Broadcasting Board of GovernorsMichael P. Meehan currently serves as President of Blue Line Strategic Communications, Inc. and as Senior Vice President at Virilion, a digital media company. For over two decades, Meehan served in senior roles for U.S. Senators John Kerry, Barbara Boxer, Maria Cantwell and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, two presidential campaigns, two U.S. House offices and congressional campaigns in 25 states. Mr. Meehan earned a B.A. in political science from Bates College.
Victor H. Ashe, Member, Broadcasting Board of GovernorsVictor H. Ashe recently served as United States Ambassador to Poland from June 2004 to October 2009. He also previously served as a Tennessee State Representative and was the longest serving Mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee. Mr. Ashe has served as President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, was twice appointed to the Intergovernmental Advisory Committee and is a former member of the Americorps Board of Directors. He currently sits on the Board of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the American Rovers Association. Mr. Ashe is a graduate of Yale University and the University Of Tennessee College Of Law in 1974.
Dennis Mulhaupt, Member, Broadcasting Board of GovernorsDennis Mulhaupt is founder and managing director of Commonwealth Partners, Inc., providing advisory services to philanthropic institutions and families. He previously served as Executive Vice President at KCET in Los Angeles, a west-coast flagship public broadcasting and media company. Earlier in his career, he was Vice President at Claremont McKenna College; Vice President for Medical External Relations at Stanford University; and Senior Associate dean in the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences at the University of Southern California. Mr. Mulhaupt received his B.A. from the University of Southern California and an M.Phil. in international relations and criminology from Cambridge University.
Dana Perino, Member, Broadcasting Board of GovernorsDana Perino is the Chief Issues Counselor for the United States at Burson-Marsteller and is a Fox News Contributor. She is the former White House Press Secretary to President George W. Bush - the first Republican woman to hold that position. Ms. Perino previously served in the United States Justice Department, was Director of Communications for the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and worked on Capitol Hill for Representatives Dan Schaefer (R-CO) and Scott McInnis (R-C). She holds a M.A. in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois – Springfield and a B.A. in Mass Communications from Colorado State University - Pueblo.
S. Enders Wimbush, Member, Broadcasting Board of GovernorsS. Enders Wimbush is the Senior Vice President for International Programs and Policy at the Hudson Institute. He previously worked in the private sector with Booz Allen Hamilton and Science Applications International Corporation, and served as director of Radio Liberty in Munich. Mr. Wimbush founded and directed the Society for Central Asian Studies in Oxford, England, through which he created the international journal Central Asian Survey. Mr. Wimbush also served as a Senior Analyst for the Rand Corporation. Mr. Wimbush received his A.M. in International Relations from the University of Chicago and B.A. in History from the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
* * *The bipartisan Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) oversees all U.S. government and government-sponsored, non-military, international broadcasting services. These include the Voice of America (VOA), Alhurra, Radio Sawa, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), and Radio and TV Marti.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) was created 1994, and serves as a firewall to protect the professional independence and integrity of the BBG broadcasters. It was previously a department within the United States Information Agency until 1999.
On October 1, 1999, the Broadcasting Board of Governors became the independent agency responsible for all U.S. government and government sponsored, non-military international broadcasting.
The BBG board consists of eight members appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The ninth member is the Secretary of State. By law, no more than four members shall be from the same political party. The president designates one member (other than the Secretary of State) to serve as Chairman.
Related Items:
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 11/18/09
President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 11/18/09
