Patrick Named FCC Chairman

President Reagan named Dennis R. Patrick on Thursday as chairman of the Federal Communcations Commission.

Patrick, 35, will become the independent regulatory agency’s youngest chairman and is expected to continue the deregulatory course set by Chairman Mark S. Fowler, who announced his resignation recently and has not yet announced plans for his future.

“I welcome this opportunity to serve and hope to justify the confidence the President has expressed in me,” said Patrick, a Los Angeles native and a Republican member of the commission since December, 1983.

Because Patrick already sits on the commission, he does not have to be confirmed by the Senate. His term expires June 30, 1992. Fowler, who has championed deregulation in his post as chairman for nearly six years, is expected to leave the FCC this spring, sources said.

Patrick, who is described by industry observers as bright and capable, said he believes that it would be inappropriate to list his priorities or to discuss specific issues now because Fowler is still chairman of the commission.

He noted, however, that there are a number of issues of particular interest to the film and broadcast production community in Los Angeles “that the commission will have to deal with in the near future.”

These include the compulsory license that allows cable television operators to use broadcast programs only by paying a set copyright fee, and the syndicated exclusivity rule, which was repealed by the commission in 1980. The rule had permitted local broadcasters to require cable operators to black out programs for which local commercial television stations had obtained exclusive rights.

Before joining the commission, Patrick was associate director for presidential personnel at the White House. He graduated magna cum laude from Occidental College, received a law degree from UCLA and, while in school, was a law clerk for William P. Clark, who was then a member of the California Supreme Court.