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*PRESS RELEASE*
For immediate release
Contact: Karen Menichelli
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
March 14, 2006
202-549-0676
*Benton Foundation Names Former FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani
President*
* *
The Washington, DC-based Benton Foundation has named former FCC
Commissioner Gloria Tristani to be President of the foundation,
effective April 5, 2006. Ms. Tristani said, “The Benton Foundation’s
leadership is needed now more than ever to ensure that the public will
benefit from the emerging digital communications environment as access,
equity, and diversity are under siege by increasing media concentration
and commercialization. I look forward to directing the foundation’s
efforts to both educate people about their stake in communications
policy debates – and to advocate for a media environment that ensures
communities can produce and have access to diverse and locally
responsive media content.”
Ms. Tristani served for the last two years as managing director of the
Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ (OC, Inc.), where
she advocated for the public interest in the media, including a
diversity of ownership and viewpoints, meaningful public interest
obligations, and enhanced children’s educational programming.
The Benton Foundation, celebrating its 25^th anniversary this year, is a
small private foundation that is committed to articulating a public
interest vision for the digital age and demonstrating the value of
communications for solving social problems. According to foundation
board chair Charles Benton, “Gloria’s character, experience, and skills
reflect the core values of the foundation, and her hiring reaffirms the
foundation’s longstanding commitment to education and advocacy on media
policy issues.” Along with media policy, the foundation is also
committed to strengthening public service media, including community
media, and Ms. Tristani’s strong communications policy background will
contribute substantively to that work as well.
In October 2005, Executive Vice President Karen Menichelli announced to
the Benton board her decision to retire June 30, 2006, after 24 years at
the foundation. Ms. Menichelli will devote more time to her
programmatic interest in community media and will be consulting with the
foundation in this area of its work. “Karen has been the bedrock of the
Benton Foundation,” said Mr. Benton. “We are proud of her service to
philanthropy and the independent sector through the foundation. Her
dedication to Benton’s mission and her open, inclusive style have served
us well.”
During her tenure at the FCC, Ms. Tristani was committed to ensuring
that all Americans were able to share in the benefits of the
telecommunications revolution. She was an advocate for the FCC’s Equal
Employment Opportunity rules, minority ownership of media properties,
broadcasters’ provision of opportunities for political discourse, the
E-rate (discounted Internet rates for schools and libraries), while
fighting against children’s exposure to TV violence and broadcast
indecency. Before serving on the FCC, she was the first woman elected
to the New Mexico State Corporation Commission. She has a B.A. from
Barnard College and a J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of
Law. She was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with Spanish as
her first language.
While based in DC, the foundation has a new office in Evanston, IL,
where Mr. Benton is located.
_Benton__ Foundation_
1625 K Street, NW
One Rotary Center
11^th
floor
1560
Sherman Road, Suite 440
Washington, DC 20006
Evanston, IL 60201
202-638-5770 (p)
(847) 328-3040 (p)
202-638-5771 (f)
(847) 328-3046 (f)
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------------------------------
Andy Carvin
acarvin (at) edc . org
andycarvin (at) yahoo . com
http://www.digitaldivide.net
http://www.andycarvin.com
------------------------------
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