WASHINGTON, D.C. — NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith, a former two-term Senator from Oregon, suffered a stroke and was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday night.
The NAB released the information late Wednesday.
In a brief statement, the organization said Smith is responding well to treatment, is stable and alert, and is resting comfortably.
“His prognosis is good, and he is expected to make a full recovery,” the NAB said.
On Thursday, high-profile Washington, D.C. policy makers took to Twitter to express their well wishes.
“My thoughts and prayers are with Senator Smith and his family,” Tweeted FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who called Smith “an excellent advocate for the NAB and broadcasters everywhere, but more importantly, a gem of a person. The adjectives are legion, and among them are: good, kind, genuine, thoughtful. Get better soon, my friend.”
FCC Chief of Staff Matthew Berry called Smith “one of the most decent and genuine people I’ve met during my time at the FCC. I hope that he has a speedy and full recovery.”
Republican Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, who has been silent on social media regarding President Trump’s withdrawal of his renomination to the FCC over First Amendment differences pertaining to platforms including Twitter, Tweeted that he was “[d]eeply upset to learn the health news of my friend … My wife and I extend our prayers for him to make a full recovery and peace to his family during this time.”
Top TV industry executives also made it a point to express their good wishes to Smith, the former U.S. Senator from Oregon. Gray Television CEO Hilton Howell Jr. addressed Smith’s stroke before diving in to his company’s Q2 2020 financial results on the company’s earnings call Thursday.
And, on Twitter, Hearst Television President Jordan Wertlieb noted, “The collective thoughts and prayers of broadcasters all over the country are with Gordon Smith. He is truly a great leader and an iconic representative of our industry.”
