FCC's Ajit Pai to Receive the 2020 BFA Lowry Mays Award

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, February 27, 2020

The Broadcasters Foundation of America

The Broadcasters Foundation of America (BFA) has announced that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is the recipient of this year's Lowry Mays Excellence in Broadcasting Award. The Award is bestowed annually on an individual in broadcasting whose work exemplifies innovation, community service, advocacy and entrepreneurship. Chairman Pai will be presented with the Award at the BFA annual breakfast on Wednesday, April 22 in the Brahms Room of the Encore Hotel in Las Vegas, during the NAB Show.

Chairman Pai is known and respected for his regulatory philosophy, which is influenced by a few simple principles: more innovation, more investment, better products and services, lower prices, more job creation, and faster economic growth. Some selected issues that Chairman Pai has invested in are ATSC 3.0, media ownership regulation and modernization, First Amendment freedoms and Public Safety.

He was designated Chairman of the FCC by President Trump in January, 2017. Prior to that, he served as Commissioner at the FCC, appointed by then-President Barack Obama and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate in May, 2012. In addition to his work with the FCC, Chairman Pai worked as Chief Counsel for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights, under Chairman Sam Brownback.

The Lowry Mays Excellence in Broadcasting Award salutes its namesake and is underwritten by The Mays Family Foundation. Past recipients include Bill Clark, Eddie Fritts, Cathy Hughes, Mel Karmazin, Jeff Smulyan, Dick Wiley, and others. As previously announced, the Broadcasters Foundation will present the Leadership in Broadcasting Awards during the Breakfast.

The Broadcasters Foundation has distributed millions of dollars in aid to broadcasters who have lost their livelihood through a catastrophic event, debilitating disease or unforeseen tragedy. Personal donations can be made to the Foundation's Guardian Fund, corporate contributions are accepted through the Angel Initiative, and bequests can be made through the Foundation's Legacy Society. For more information, please visit www.broadcastersfoundation.org.