[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 12, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S917-S918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO DENNIS SWANSON

 Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, today I wish a happy 70th 
birthday to Mr. Dennis Swanson, a kind and generous man who has been 
one of the leading innovators in television broadcasting over the last 
30 years.
  Mr. Swanson, who currently serves as president of stations operations 
at FOX Television Stations, Inc., has been called a ``mastermind'' of 
the broadcast industry. It is high praise, and very well deserved. With 
keen foresight, tremendous business acumen, and a willingness to take 
chances, Swanson has improved the fortunes of every station he has 
worked for. Most importantly, he did this not by offering viewers 
programs that appealed to the lowest common denominator, but instead he 
developed creative, high-quality programming that appealed to the needs 
of the stations' communities.
  In 1976, Swanson was hired as executive producer of KABC, Los 
Angeles' ABC affiliate. At that time, the station had never finished 
higher than third in local news ratings, and Swanson saw that the 
station needed to do something to offers its viewers a new perspective. 
In 1977, with the debate over Proposition 13 raging throughout 
California, Swanson invited the measure's author, Howard Jarvis, to 
come on the 5 p.m. newscast and debate the measure's opponents every 
day for a month. In addition, Swanson worked hard to improve the 
quality of the station's reporting. These efforts paid off when in 1978 
he was awarded the George Foster Peabody Award, the most prestigious 
award in broadcasting, for KABC's reporting on the Los Angeles Police 
Department. KABC became the No. 1 station in the region, and Swanson 
was promoted to station manager in 1981.
  In 1983, Swanson was asked to take over WLS-TV, an ABC owned and 
operated station in Chicago with low ratings. It is here that Swanson 
made perhaps the best broadcasting decision of his career and one that 
reveals his strong character. Impressed by her audition, Swanson 
offered a morning show to a woman from Baltimore with a unique name. As 
Swanson recalled years later, Oprah Winfrey wasn't sure she was ready 
for such a job. She was concerned that her color and appearance would 
prevent her from winning over viewers. Swanson would have none of that, 
``I'm not in the color business,'' he told her. He assured her that he 
didn't want her to change her appearance, but to simply ``be the person 
I saw audition.''
  As we all know, the decision to hire Oprah was an unqualified 
success, rocketing WLS to the top of the Chicago market and eventually 
reaping billions in revenues for ABC. It also launched the career of 
one of the most influential and inspirational figures in America today.

[[Page S918]]

  In 1986, Swanson moved to New York to take the helm at ABC Sports. 
During his tenure, ABC's top sports program, ``Monday Night Football,'' 
became one of America's top-rated primetime programs, consistently 
ranking in the top-10 highest rated shows. He also pulled one of the 
most remarkable developments in sports programming history when he 
convinced the International Olympic Committee to stagger its winter and 
summer games so the Olympics would occur every other year. This 
decision has been credited with keeping the public interested in the 
games and promoting the Olympics' message of sportsmanship and friendly 
competition. Additionally, Swanson was integral in the development of 
the Bowl Championship Series, an agreement between the four major 
college football bowl games that allows for the top two teams to play 
for the national championship at the end of each year.
  In 1996, Swanson went to work as general manager for WNBC, NBC's 
flagship station in New York. The station was running second to 
longtime market leader WABC-TV, but needed a creative spark to put it 
over the top. As he had done in L.A. and Chicago, Swanson focused on 
providing viewers with high-quality community programming. He convinced 
network executives to broadcast the Christmas tree lighting at 
Rockefeller Center live during prime time. It was a huge hit. True to 
form, the station under Swanson broadcast other community events, such 
as the St. Patrick's Day Parade and the Puerto Rican Pride day parade, 
ensuring that many New Yorkers who were unable to attend the parades 
could still feel like part of the festivities. When Swanson left WNBC 
in 2002, the station, like those he left in Chicago and Los Angeles, 
was the ratings leader for its market.
  After leaving WNBC, Swanson served as executive vice president and 
chief operating officer of Viacom Television Stations, Inc., where he 
oversaw 39 television stations throughout the country. While his tenure 
there was brief, having left for FOX in 2005, at the time of his 
departure Viacom's stations in New York and L.A. were increasing in 
market share, as were several stations in smaller markets. He now is in 
charge of FOX's 35 local television stations.
  For all the success he has had, focusing solely on Mr. Swanson's 
professional success doesn't even allow one to scratch the surface of 
his rich life. Far from the apocryphal career-obsessed television 
executive of popular lore, for him serving the community was not just a 
strategy for increasing television ratings but a way of life. He has 
served on the boards and advisory committees of various organizations, 
including the Broadway Association, Inc., the National Academy of 
Television Arts and Sciences, the Committee for Hispanic Children and 
Families, Inc, and the Ireland-United States Council for Commerce and 
Industry. He has also been active in efforts to promote minority voices 
in the media, serving as chairman of the Emma L. Bowen Foundation for 
Minority Interests in the Media since its founding in 1991.
  Those who know him best say Mr. Swanson has two passions: his family 
and the U.S. Marine Corps. Having served in the Marines as an officer 
in the early 1960s, he often credits the corps with helping make him 
the man he is today. He has given back, raising millions for the Marine 
Corps Scholarship Foundation and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
  But first and foremost for Mr. Swanson is his family. Despite his 
busy schedule, he strives to spend as much time as possible with Kathy, 
his wife of 46 years, their three children and nine grandchildren. He 
makes it a point to be with them for every holiday and special event. 
All of his grandchildren have their grandfather attend their events, 
whether they are hockey games in Connecticut at 6 a.m. or theatrical 
plays and lacrosse games in northern Virginia or ballets and soccer 
games in southern California; Dennis is always there for them
  When looking upon all that Mr. Swanson has accomplished both 
professionally and personally, it is difficult to imagine that there is 
more that he can do. Yet his dedication and creativity have proven 
resilient over the years, so one can only expect bigger and better 
things from him. I look forward to seeing what kind of new and 
innovative ideas he develops in the future.
  Happy birthday, Dennis Swanson. May your 70th year be your best one 
yet.

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