Rep. Clyburn to Receive MMTC's Parker Award

The Minority Media & Telecommunications Counsel (MMTC) has named Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) as its Everett C. Parker Lifetime Achievement Award winner, MMTC's highest honor. The award is named for the founder of the United Church of Christ's Office of Communication (OC), whose mission was to reform TV stations in the South, particularly their coverage of Civil Rights, by challenging their licenses.

The announcement came Thursday night as MMTC prepared for its annual Access to Capital and Telecom Policy Conference in Washington July 18-19, where the award is given out.

The conference will also feature an appearance by Clyburn's daughter, FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who has her own connection to Parker. In 2010, she delivered the UCC's Everett C. Parker Lecture in Ethics and Telecommunications. Other award winners are AT&T, which is getting the Corporate Diversity Awards, and The Wentworth Group, which is getting the Excellence in Financial Services award.

Also on the program are new Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, veteran MMTC attendee, Republican FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell, and former Democratic Commissioner and Rosenworcel's predecessor and former boss, Michael Copps.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.