December 10, 1997    


     CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE JOSEPH STIRMER TO RETIRE       

     Chief Administrative Law Judge Joseph Stirmer will retire on January 2, 1998, after
more than 42 years of federal government service, the last 35 years of which have been at the
Federal Communications Commission.   

     Judge Stirmer began his service with the Commission as a trial attorney in the Hearing
Division of the Broadcast Bureau in January 1962.  He served in that Division until 1975,
when he was appointed an Administrative Law Judge.  He was appointed the Chief
Administrative Law Judge of the Federal Communications Commission in April 1990.  

     As a trial attorney and Administrative Law Judge, Judge Stirmer tried and heard a wide
variety of communications cases.  In addition, as a trial lawyer, he served as Commission
Counsel in several Section 403 investigatory proceedings ordered by the Commission and later,
as an Administrative Law Judge, he also conducted several of these proceedings on behalf of
the Commission.

     Prior to joining the Commission, Judge Stirmer was a trial attorney with the Criminal
Division of the Department of Justice from 1957 to 1962, having been appointed under the
Attorney General's Recruitment Program for Honor Law Graduates.  He also served as a
Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky.  Judge Stirmer
also served as an infantry officer in the United States Army from 1952 - 1954. 
      
     Upon retirement, Judge Stirmer and his wife, Marlene, expect to remain in the greater
Washington, DC, area.  

                             - FCC -