SEN. SNOWE RECEIVES EVERETT C. PARKER AWARD AT NATIONAL PRESS CLUB SEPT. 25

The office of Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, issued the following news release:

U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe, a member of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, was honored at the 25th Annual Everett C. Parker Ethics in Telecommunications Lecture and Awards Luncheon held at the National Press Club today for her longstanding stewardship of the public interest in the telecommunications industry.

"There can be no denying the underlying philosophy that social justice cannot be achieved without media justice...that - in our information age which pivots on state-of-the-art technologies developing and operating at the speed of nanoseconds - the inequities of disparity and discrimination must constantly be challenged," said Senator Snowe (R-ME).

Senator Snowe spoke to initiatives she has spearheaded regarding E-rate, media consolidation, and net neutrality where her leadership and emphasis have been vigorous: "Senator Rockefeller and I created the E-rate program to allow citizens in rural America to browse the shelves of the Library of Congress online as easily as someone in the wealthiest parts of Manhattan. Because if we allowed our country to become separated into technological 'haves'and 'have nots', the digital divide would become the opportunity divide, and we can't afford to let that happen!"

A champion of net neutrality which seeks to ensure the democratization of the Internet, Snowe said the following: "Let us not allow the historians of the future to look back upon the fledgling years of the 21st century as the time when the limitless democratic possibilities of the Internet were lost forever."

The list of honorees, all of whom are leading advocates for public interest in telecommunications, included U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe; Phyllis Eagle-Oldson, Executive Director of the Emma Bowen Foundation; and Michelle Singletary, author of "The Color of Money" column for the Washington Post. The unique event, hosted by the Office of Communication, Inc. (OC, Inc.) of the United Church of Christ and the Telecommunications Research and Action Center (TRAC), brought forth thoughtful and provocative discussion regarding telecom and the media in the digital age from an ethical and moral perspective.

Over the years, the event has honored some of the nation's leading telecommunications advocates who have fought for diversity in the marketplace of ideas and accountability from U.S. media companies. Past honorees include: Randall Pinkston, a New York-based CBS News correspondent whose excellent investigative journalism helped advance the role of minorities in media; Newton Minow, former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission who fought for public broadcasting, and brought attention to children's programming issues; and Jean Chatzky, Financial Editor for Money Magazine and NBC's Today Show for her outstanding consumer education reporting on the telecommunications marketplace.