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As the Director of the White House Office of Telecommunications Policy from 1970 to 1974 (under Richard Nixon), Whitehead was a sometimes controversial figure, for instance threatening the public television system. "Tom walked a fine line when they wanted in many cases to use the power levers of the White House to manipulate or control the output of the media," said his then-assistant, and now CEO of C-Span, Brian Lamb. However, "the most important thing Tom did was to direct the president's policy on domestic satellite communications," Lamb said. "That was the trigger that led to the diminution of power of the three networks and AT&T, allowing for the creation of new cable television channels and low-cost long-distance telephone systems." Whitehead's idea, called "Open Skies", became official policy at the Federal Communications Commission, and allowed "Cable-TV" channels to thrive without the censorship and regulations that broadcast channels had to follow. That set the stage for deregulation of the telephone network and the development of cellular telephone systems, but also led directly to the government's hands-off approach to the Internet, reflected by the FCC's August 1st action supporting net neutrality. Whitehead died July 23 from prostate cancer. He was 69.
From This is True for 27 July 2008
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