The papers document the full extent of Kenneth A. Cox's service on the Federal Communications Commission. Most notable in the collection is the selection of speeches and writings documenting Cox's involvement with communications and broadcasting organizations and his public role as a member of the FCC; correspondence with legislators on numerous subjects related to the FCC regulatory responsibility; information in the subject files about his strong opinions on the responsibility of networks, quality of programming in the matters of license renewals, and the emergent technologies of cable television and land mobile communications. There is no material here on his earlier government service, his law career before and after his service on the FCC, or his work as a senior vice-president of MCI. There are also no personal papers in the collection. The papers have been arranged in the following series: Speeches, Writings and Interviews, Biographical Sketches, Correspondence, Subject Files, Opinions, and Photographs.
The SPEECHES of Commissioner Cox run from March 8, 1963 to August 4, 1970 and are arranged chronologically and are listed in full by title (when available), event, and date of delivery. Overall, the speeches document his position in favor of an active FCC, especially in the area of radio and television programming. The speeches of 1963 and 1964 are concerned mainly with explaining the regulatory role of the FCC in radio and television broadcasting to professional organizations and associations having to do with communications. The speeches of 1965 and 1966 continue this theme but also include comments on religious broadcasting and public service responsibilities of broadcasters. From 1967 through 1969, the speeches begin to include opinions on community antenna (or community access or cable) television (CATV) and the public interest as well as remarks on the fairness doctrine and anti-trust issues. In 1970, Cox's speeches look back on his seven years of service to the FCC and the things that have changed in that time and look ahead to developments in the 1970s. There are also a few speeches on one of Cox's pet projects, land mobile communications.
Also included at the end of this series are a number of transcripts from appearances made by Cox on radio programs from 1965 to 1969.
The series WRITINGS AND INTERVIEWS consist of four articles written by Commissioner Cox for communications industry publications and transcripts of two panel discussions. The contents are listed in full in the container list.
The BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES are a handful of brief biographical notes on Commissioner Cox ranging from the announcement of his appointment to the FCC to a copy of his resume after serving in the FCC for several years. They are arranged chronologically.
The CORRESPONDENCE series is arranged by Personal Correspondence, Professional Correspondence, Congressional Correspondence, and Inter-office Memoranda. The correspondence is arranged chronologically by date of the letter or telegram or, if that information is not available, by date of receipt. The personal correspondence consists primarily of letters to the Commissioner congratulating him for various achievements including his receipt of an honorary doctoral degree from the Chicago Theological Seminary in June of 1969 and his retirement from the FCC in 1970.
The Professional Correspondence consists almost entirely of invitations to the Commissioner to attend public functions or to speak at conferences, seminars, workshops, or other events. Most of these are either annotated with Cox's acceptance or decline of the invitation or have a letter of acceptance or decline attached. There are a small number of letters to Cox regarding subjects such as FCC policy, the cancellation of television shows, or other mass communication matters for 1969 and 1970.
The Congressional Correspondence consists of letters to and from United States Senators and Representatives concerning FCC policy and/or actions in their constituent area. Included are letters to and from Sen. John Pastore, head of the Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications, concerning broadcast license renewal and amendment of the Communications Act of 1934. Also included are letters to and from Sen. William Proxmire concerning equal time and political commercials. Other correspondents include Senators E. L. Bartlett, J. Glenn Beall, Carl T. Curtis, Paul Douglas, J. Howard Edmonson, Roman L. Hruska, Henry M. Jackson, Edward Long, and Mike Monroney, and Representatives Brock Adams, Lindley Beckworth, Carl Elliott, Daniel J. Flood, Donald M. Fraser, Oren Harris, George Huddleston, James H. Morrison, and Clark W. Thompson.
The Inter-Office Memoranda consist primarily of further discussion of items from Commission meetings. Some memoranda were distributed to other government offices and some were distributed only within the FCC. A large part of the memoranda written by Commissioner Cox consists of commentary on network policies concerning the cancellation of TV programs. Other memoranda written by Cox include commentary on cable TV, common carrier procedures, construction permits, land mobile radio service, license renewals, open-mike radio programming, quality of network programming, regulation exemptions for broadcasts by educational institutions and hospitals, VHF drop-ins, and violence on TV.
The SUBJECT FILES series consist of notes, correspondence, and informational material on a host of topics related to communications and broadcasting. Most notable are files on Cox's pet projects such as license renewal, competition and responsibility in network broadcasting, and land mobile communications. Also included are small files on interesting subjects such as obscenity complaints, violence on television, equal time and the Fairness Doctrine, religious broadcasting, cigarette advertising, and the ongoing contentious relationship between AT&T and the FCC. The subject files document Cox's commitment to work, his wide-ranging interests, and his desire to have an informed opinion on all matters under consideration by the FCC.
The official OPINIONS of Commissioner Cox on matters before the FCC are arranged by Dissenting, Concurring, and Dissenting in Part and Concurring in Part. When available, the docket numbers for the opinions collected in these folders have been provided. Opinions written by Commissioners were, at the time of Cox's tenure, a very recent development encouraged by Cox's colleague at the FCC, Commissioner Lee Loevinger (whose papers are also held by the Wisconsin Historical Society). Opinions were written in order to suggest further areas of inquiry in a case, to request clarification on a point, or to provide a larger context for decisions made by the FCC. Opinions were not required of the Commissioners, but Cox was an avid writer of them, even though some of his opinions are brief paragraphs of assent.
All opinions of Commissioner Cox are published in the FCC Reports (SUDOC classification number CC 1.12/2), available in Federal Depository Libraries (see http://www.gpoaccess.gov/libraries.html for a list of these libraries). The FCC Reports are not, however, indexed by the name of the Commissioner writing the opinion, so Cox's opinions have been collected here and described by subject, petitioner (when available), locality (when available), docket number (when available), and date in the register for the researcher's convenience.
The PHOTOGRAPHS in this collection consist of photographs of Commissioner Cox performing official duties such as dedications, openings, and public appearances. There is also a photo book commemorating the 15th Annual Dinner of the BMI-NAB Directorate and Officers in 1963 and a portfolio commemorating the FCC Commissioners' tour of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in Burbank, California in 1963. This portfolio consists of fourteen photographs of the Commissioners touring the Lockheed Briar Summit Radio Station (used for long-range communications with aircraft) and the Lockheed Aircraft facilities and grounds. The portfolio also includes a tour itinerary, list of Lockheed hosts, list of attendees, excerpts from “the past four annual reports on radio facilities and operations,” a transcript of a presentation given during the tour on Telpak (the Lockheed communication network), and comments on industrial security and safety radio usage.
