Former FCC Official Roy Stewart Dies

Roy Stewart, 78, former chief of the Federal Communications Commission's then-Mass Media Bureau and subsequently of the Office of Broadcast License Policy, died April 10 at Fairfax Hospital, Fairfax (VA) after what was described as a brief illness. Stewart joined the FCC in 1965, became head of the Mass Media Bureau in 1989, then moved to the license policy office before retiring in 2009.

“I am sad to learn of the passing of Roy Stewart, former Chief of the FCC’s Mass Media Bureau," said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. "In his over four decades at the Commission, Roy was a charismatic leader. He started at the Commission in 1965 in the TV Applications Branch of the Broadcast Bureau, and was Chief of the Mass Media Bureau for a venerable 13 years, before heading the Media Bureau’s Office of Broadcast License Policy until his retirement in 2009. Roy’s memory will live on, as he continues to be a legend in the broadcast industry. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Patricia Zimmer Stewart, and his family.” Former FCC chairman Dick Wiley called Stewart "the finest regulatory official I ever worked with," both inside and outside the FCC. Wiley became partner in mega-Communications firm Wiley Rein after leaving the commission.