John C. Doerfer (November 30, 1904 – June 5, 1992) served as Chairman of the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

from July 1, 1957 to March 10, 1960 as a Republican.

Early life

Prior to his chairmanship of the FCC, Doerfer was the city attorney for

West Allis, Wisconsin West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Wis ...

. He served on Milwaukee Mayor Frank P. Zeidler's Metropolitan Transportation Committee. In 1950, he became chairman of the

Public Service Commission of Wisconsin The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin is an independent regulatory agency responsible for regulating public utilities in the energy, telecommunications, gas, and water companies located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2021, the agency ...

, the state agency that oversees public utilities. In 1957, Doerfer was appointed to head the Federal Communications Commission by President Dwight Eisenhower. A short time into his term he came under suspicion for accepting trips and other gifts from the broadcasters he was supposed to regulate. The eruption of the

1950s quiz show scandals The 1950s quiz show scandals were a series of scandals involving the producers and contestants of several popular American television quiz shows. These shows' producers secretly gave assistance to certain contestants in order to prearrange the ...

concerning the rigging of T.V. game show answers that brought widespread criticism for Doerfer and the F.C.C. for their failure to properly police these programs. In March 1960, an investigation revealed that Doerfer had been a guest on the luxury yacht of George B. Storer, president of

Storer Communications Storer Communications, known from 1927 to 1952 as the Fort Industry Company and from 1952 to 1983 as Storer Broadcasting, was an American media company that owned television and radio stations and cable television systems. Founded by George Butle ...

. In the wake of these revelations he was asked to resign, which he did on March 14, 1960.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doerfer, John C. Chairmen of the Federal Communications Commission 1904 births 1992 deaths Eisenhower administration personnel People from West Allis, Wisconsin