American government official (born 1939)
Alfred C. Sikes
(born December 16, 1939)
[1]
is a
Republican
who served as chairman of the
U.S.
Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) from August 8, 1989, to January 19, 1993 and also served as
administrator
of the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
.
[2]
He received a
B.A.
degree for
political science
from
Westminster College
in 1961 and an
L.L.B.
degree from the
University of Missouri School of Law
in 1964.
[1]
[3]
In 2000, Sikes founded the non-profit
Reading Excellence and Discovery Foundation
[4]
and served as chairman of the
Trinity Forum
's board of trustees.
[5]
Career
[
edit
]
Sikes worked at Allen, Woolsey and Fisher, a law firm, from 1964 to 1968, and was assistant
Missouri Attorney General
from 1969 to 1972. He directed Missouri's Department of Community Affairs from 1973 to 1974, and the state's Department of Consumer Affairs, Regulation, and Licensing from 1974 to 1976. From 1977 to 1985, Sikes worked in the media industry starting, in 1978, Sikes and Associates which owned and managed radio properties and provided consulting services. In 1986, he was nominated by President Reagan to become Assistant Secretary of Commerce and director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
[1]
[6]
U.S. President
George H. W. Bush
nominated Sikes to be a member of the FCC on June 28, 1989, and he was designated as the commission's chairman after being confirmed by the
U.S. Senate
.
[1]
[7]
Chairman of the FCC
[
edit
]
Bush chose Sikes to be chairman over attorney Sherrie P. Marshall, whom he also nominated as a commissioner, because Sikes was thought to have a good relationship with
Congress
[8]
and be more likely to pass the Senate confirmation.
[7]
During his tenure as FCC chairman, Sikes supported
deregulation
[8]
and established the framework for digital high-definition television.
[9]
Sikes also carved 100 mHz out of the radio spectrum for new mobile digital services, including radio, telephones, cell phones and satellite radio.
[10]
Sikes succeeded
Dennis R. Patrick
as FCC head, and although his term as a commissioner was scheduled to end on June 30, 1993, Sikes announced his resignation on January 19, 1993. He stepped down to let
Democrat
Bill Clinton
, who had just been elected U.S. President at the time, choose his own FCC head.
[11]
After Sikes left,
James Henry Quello
succeeded him as interim chairman.
[12]
[13]
Sikes was hired by the
Hearst Corporation
in March 1993 to lead the company's New Media & Technology Group,
[14]
defying earlier speculation about a possible attempt at running for Congress or joining a Washington law firm.
[15]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Al Sikes was born to Marcia Weber Sikes, who died in 2006, and William Kendall Sikes, who died in 1994. He is married to Martha Sikes and has three daughters,
[1]
Deborah, Christine, and Marcia.
[3]
[16]
He was described in
The New York Times
as "mild-mannered."
[9]
Sikes' family owned a sporting goods store in
Sikeston, Missouri
, a city founded by his great-great-great-uncle.
[15]
In October 1992, Sikes was treated for
prostate cancer
,
[17]
an event that radio personality
Howard Stern
mocked after the FCC fined radio station
KLSX
for broadcasting Stern's program.
[18]
[19]
In 1999, Sikes co-founded
READ Foundation
, a New York City non profit that provides at-risk youth with one-to-one literacy tutoring. Al Sikes has written the book Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. He and his wife live in Easton, Maryland, where he has served on several boards, with a friend started Take The Helm and is the founder of The Monty Alexander Jazz Festival.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Nomination of Alfred C. Sikes To Be a Member of the Federal Communications Commission, and Designation as Chairman"
.
The American Presidency Project
. Gerhard Peters ? The American Presidency Project. June 28, 1989
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
- ^
"Commissioners from 1934 to Present"
.
Federal Communications Commission
. February 22, 2010.
Archived
from the original on 11 November 2010
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
Lohr, Steve (May 29, 1994).
"Sound Bytes; Visualizing the New Media"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
- ^
Wolfer, Sondra (February 6, 2005).
"Lesson in tutoring Teens help kids boost reading skills"
.
New York Daily News
. Daily News, L.P
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"Al Sikes"
. The Trinity Forum, Inc. 2010. Archived from
the original
on 2010-11-19
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
- ^
"Bush Names Head of F.C.C."
The New York Times
. Associated Press. June 29, 1989
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
"Bush Chooses Alfred Sikes to Head FCC"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Associated Press. June 29, 1989
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
Zarkin, Kimberly; Zarkin, Michael J. (2006).
The Federal Communications Commission: Front Line in the Culture and Regulation Wars
.
Greenwood Publishing Group
. p. 196.
ISBN
978-0-313-33416-0
.
- ^
a
b
Andrews, Edmund L. (December 8, 1992).
"F.C.C. Chief Plans to Resign Before Clinton Inauguration"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
- ^
Andrews, Edmund L. (June 2, 1991).
"Pursuing Al Sikes's Grand Agenda"
.
The New York Times
.
Archived
from the original on 11 November 2010
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
- ^
Shiver, Jube Jr. (December 8, 1992).
"FCC Chairman to Step Down Next Month"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
- ^
Times Staff and Wire Reports (February 6, 1993).
"Other News"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
- ^
"THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Interim F.C.C. Head"
.
The New York Times
. February 8, 1993
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
- ^
Times Staff and Wire Services (March 16, 1993).
"The Hearst Corp. has hired former Federal Communications ..."
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
Farhi, Paul (May 5, 1991).
"Waves of the Future; FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes Has Visions of a Technological Revolution"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
- ^
"Marcia Sikes"
.
Sikeston Standard Democrat
. Sikeston Standard Democrat. March 6, 2006. Archived from
the original
on July 20, 2011
. Retrieved
March 21,
2011
.
- ^
"FCC Chairman Has Surgery"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Associated Press. October 30, 1992
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
- ^
Andrews, Edmund L. (November 27, 1992).
"THE MEDIA BUSINESS; F.C.C. Torn Over Howard Stern Case"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
- ^
Farhi, Paul (November 25, 1992).
"FCC's Stern Punishment; Radio Group to Be Fined, Purchases May Be Delayed"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
November 4,
2010
.
External links
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