Alan Davidson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), will receive the Newton N. Minow Award, the United Church of Christ’s Media Justice Ministry announced today.
The award will be presented at the 42nd Annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture and Awards Breakfast, held at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, September 24, at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 945 G Street NW, Washington, DC. The event will also be livestreamed.
Davidson’s leadership at NTIA in successfully overseeing the myriad projects stemming from the Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Law in its Internet for All efforts has been tremendous. NTIA has developed the underlying rules and implementation of the $42 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, the Digital Equity Act, as well as additional funding for Tribal Connectivity and Middle Mile Infrastructure. Beyond those significant tasks, NTIA has been leading efforts on privacy, equity and civil rights; a national spectrum strategy; and artificial intelligence accountability policy. Before this role, Davidson served in senior positions at Google and Mozilla and was a founding director of the Center for Democracy and Technology.
The Newton N. Minow Award, established on the 50th Anniversary of former FCC Chairman Newton Minow’s famous “Vast Wasteland” speech advocating for television programming in the public interest, was created to especially honor an individual who has served at the highest levels of government and adheres to an exacting standard of excellence in serving the public. The award recognizes someone who has not only worked tirelessly to serve the public interest but also opened up the halls of power to ordinary Americans.
Davidson joins a distinguished group of honorees for this year’s Parker Lecture. Former Washington Post media reporter Paul Farhi will deliver the 2024 Everett C. Parker Lecture, and U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) will receive the Everett C. Parker Award for her advocacy in ensuring affordable internet access for underserved communities through her leadership in the Affordable Connectivity Program.
About UCC Media Justice Ministry and the Parker Lecture
The UCC Media Justice Ministry is the media justice arm of the United Church of Christ denomination, which includes about 4,600 congregations and more than 700,000 members. Rev. Dr. Parker was inspired by the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to reform television coverage of the civil rights movement in the South. The advocacy of OC Inc., UCCMJM’s predecessor, resulted in the establishment of the right of all American citizens to participate before the FCC and the FCC being compelled to take away the broadcast license of the pro-segregationist television station WLBT-TV in Jackson, Miss., in 1969 for failing to serve the public interest.
The Parker Lecture was created in 1982 to recognize the Rev. Dr. Parker’s pioneering work as an advocate for the public’s rights in broadcasting. The Parker Lecture is the only program of its kind in the United States that examines telecommunications in the digital age from an ethical perspective.
Ticket information, livestream links, and additional details about the 42nd Annual Parker Lecture can be found at https://uccmediajustice.org/Parker-lecture-2024/.