James Henry Quello
Encyclopedia
Laurium, Michigan
Laurium is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan, in the center of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The population was 2,126 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. He was a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) and, in 1993, served as the Acting Chairman of the Commission. His term as Acting Chairman ended when Reed Hundt
Reed Hundt
Reed E. Hundt was chairman of the United States Federal Communications Commission from 1993 to 1997. Appointed by President Bill Clinton, he served for most of Clinton's first term. He was succeeded by William Kennard.- Biography :Hundt attended high school in Washington D.C at the prestigious St....
was confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He stepped down as an FCC commissioner in 1998. Quello was a Democrat who was appointed to the FCC by a Republican president, Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
.
He was a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
hero during the European conflict in 1941-1945 and friend of American president Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
. At the time of his death he was the chairman of James H. Quello and Mary B. Quello Center for Telecommunication Management and Law
Quello Center for Telecommunication Management and Law
The James H. and Mary B. Quello Center for Telecommunication Management & Law is a research center at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan...
at Michigan State University which was named in honor of the former commissioner and his wife. Up until his death Quello was also working as a consultant in the Government Affairs law office of Wiley Rein.
Education and Marriage
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
in the 1930s. James graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree and he and Mary were married September 14, 1937. In 1998, Michigan State University honored both with the creation of the James H. Quello and Mary B. Quello Center for Telecommunication Management and Law
Quello Center for Telecommunication Management and Law
The James H. and Mary B. Quello Center for Telecommunication Management & Law is a research center at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan...
. James served on the Board of the Center and was also affiliated with Wiley Rein, a prominent Washington, D.C. law firm. In addition to numerous awards for his public service, Quello received awards and honorary degrees from Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University is a four-year college public university established in 1899 located in Marquette, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. With a population of nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, Northern Michigan University is the Upper Peninsula's largest...
and Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
.
World War II
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Quello served as a Lieutenant and Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army (1941–45). He took part in six infantry amphibious assault landings in the war theater in Europe and Africa and fought in Africa, Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany. Quello earned several decorations and campaign ribbons andserved as a trustee of the Michigan Veterans Trust Fund, having been appointed in turn by four different governors of Michigan. He is the author of My Wars, Surviving WWII & the FCC, published in March 2001.
Broadcasting career
Quello started his career in radio broadcasting immediately after returning from Europe in 1945. He worked in the promotions department at WXYZ/Detroit. Two years later, Quello moved to rival station WJR and became Vice President and General Manager in 1960. When Capital Cities Broadcasting purchased WJR, Quello became WJR station manager and a Capital Cities Vice President. For 21 years he served on the Detroit Housing and Urban Renewal Commission.Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
by then U.S. president Richard M. Nixon in 1974. He served there until 1997 when he stepped down. His nomination at first sparked controversy as Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
accused Quello of "being a pawn for broadcasters". Fellow Michiganian, House minority leader and future United States Vice President and President Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
supported Quello's nomination by Nixon.
For several months in 1993 Quello was the Acting Chairman of the FCC, succeeded by Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
nominee Reed E. Hundt. Despite his brief tenure as FCC Chairman, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described his term with the headline "Temporary Chief Proves More Than a Fill-In". He also was once characterized as "Trumanesque" for his forthright, down-to-earth, approach to government deliberations.
As FCC Commissioner and Chairman, Quello became known for his independent thinking. He has been a champion of preserving free universal television. His decisions contributed to the transition of the FCC and the UAmerican broadcasting market into the Information Age
Information Age
The Information Age, also commonly known as the Computer Age or Digital Age, is an idea that the current age will be characterized by the ability of individuals to transfer information freely, and to have instant access to knowledge that would have been difficult or impossible to find previously...
during a period of revolutionary technological and economic change. He argued for deregulation (he took a position against financial-interest and syndication rules) but was supportive for regulation as well. "I do deregulation, I don't do anarchy," The New York Times quoted Quello as saying.
In the early 1980s, he opposed the FCC's move to let owners of TV stations sell their licenses after owning them a year. He called for legislation that would allow the Commission to keep closer watch on the level of violence on TV.
Awards
Quello earned numerous accolades during his career, including a Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Broadcasters (1994) and the first Milestone Award from the Institute for Communications Law Studies at the Catholic University of America. James H. Quello was inducted into the Michigan Association of Broadcasters, Broadcasting/Cable Hall of Fame in 1995 and the next year into the Museum of Broadcast Communications’ Radio Hall of Fame. James Quello received a record 41 lifetime achievement and distinguished service awards for his service to the FCC.In 1997 Quello received the Distinguished Service Award from both ALTV and NCTA, where Ted Turner presented the award, "for uncommon devotion to his country in peace and war." On his 23rd anniversary at the FCC, Quello was honored by Chairman Hundt and Commissioners Ness and Chong at a laudatory dinner attended by over 1,200 devoted friends and family, as well as many distinguished members of the community. Later that year he was presented the Ellis Island Medal of Honor Award and Tom Murphy, former CEO of Capital Cities/ABC, presented the International Radio and Television Society Foundation, Inc.'s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Death
On January 24, 2010 Quello died of heart and kidney failure while surrounded by his family at his home in Alexandria, VirginiaAlexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
. He was 95.