Stephen Hess, one of the foremost authorities on media and government in the United States, is a senior fellow emeritus in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution. He first joined Brookings in 1972 and was distinguished research professor of media and public affairs at the George Washington University (2004–2009). Served on White House staff during Eisenhower and Nixon presidencies and as advisor to Presidents Ford and Carter. At different points in his career, Hess has concurrently served as a Fellow in the Faculty of Government at Harvard University (1979-82), and as U.S. Representative to the United Nations General Assembly (1976) and the UNESCO General Conference (1974). Prior to joining Brookings, he was the National Chairman of the White House Conference on Children and Youth from 1969 to 1971, and was the Deputy Assistant to the President for Urban Affairs in 1969. Hess is a member of the National Academy of Public Administration and the Senior Advisory Committee of the Shorenstein Center for Press, Politics, and Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.