Mark S. Fowler (born October 6, 1941) 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 May 18, 1981 to April 17, 1987. Appointed by
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
, he led the repeal of the
Fairness Doctrine and spearheaded the deregulatory trend in telecommunications policy, and was a proponent of deregulation of television stations, and radio ownership laws.
Fowler was born in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Ontario, Canada. He received both his Bachelor's degree and Juris Doctor from the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...
.
Career after the FCC
Fowler was a communications counsel at the law firm of
Latham & Watkins LLP from 1987 until 2000 FCC. He was a VP at
Bell South while forming his own international phone company Power Fon, which was bought out by a large phone carrier. From 1990 to 1993 Mr. Fowler also served on the board of directors for Eon Corporation, then doing business as
TV Answer. TV Answer was one of the first companies to work with the FCC to explore the use of narrow band radio-wave frequencies for interactive television—where programmers and their viewers could communicate back and forth through a small device attached to a television set.
[Andrews, Edmund L. (August 17, 1994)]
Airwave Entrepreneurs Still Feeling Their Way
''The New York Times''
He has been a director of
Beasley Broadcast Group
Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owns 57 stations under the Beasley Media Group name.
History
The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Bea ...
, Inc. since February 2000. From 2006–8, his compensation as director was close to $50,000 annually; in 2009 it fell to about $20,000. He served as a director of TalkAmerica, Inc., a publicly held company until the company was sold in December 2006. Mr. Fowler also served as chairman of AssureSat, Inc., a satellite services provider that he co-founded in 1997 until the company was dissolved in December 2004.
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References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Mark S.
1941 births
Living people
Chairmen of the Federal Communications Commission
Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni
People from Toronto
University of Florida alumni
Reagan administration personnel