Rob Stoddard, senior VP of industry and association affairs at NCTA-the Internet & Television Association, is retiring after two decades at the association.
Stoddard told staffers that he would be departing Jan. 3, 2022. "Following great runs in journalism and government, I’ve been so lucky to leverage my passion for the wonders of our business into an immensely satisfying and gratifying cable career. I feel blessed to have spent these last two decades serving NCTA," he said.
Stoddard has headed up public affairs, member relations events and other projects for the trade group.
Before NCTA, Stoddard was a top communications executive at AT&T Broadband, MediaOne and Amos Hostetter Jr.'s Continental Cablevision.
His resume also includes experience on Capitol Hill, wire service (UPI), trade journalism, and radio (WKNE[AM]-WNBX-FM in Keene, N.H.), a journalism history he recounted in an oral history for the Cable Center.
On the Hill, Stoddard was press secretary to Sen. Nancy Kasselbaum (R-Kan.).
In that Cable Center interview, Stoddard said of his job: " I love the fact that I can go into any major market in the United States and I have cable friends there. I don’t have to buy friends, I don’t have to look for them, I know where they are and most of them know where I am too. So it is a godsend to have those kinds of relationships."
He out an exclamation point on the combination of his communications and journalism career in the memo to staff about his retirement: "It’s a beautiful thing when a career and a passion come together. That’s been my good fortune these past 36 years."
“Rob Stoddard will be sorely missed," said Media Institute President Richard T. Kaplar, "not just by the cable industry, but by everyone across the media realm and in government who has had the good fortune of knowing him. Rob has earned the respect of the cable industry as an outstanding advocate for NCTA and its members, yet he’s one of those rare persons who is admired far beyond a single industry for his ability to build bridges and create synergies.
“Rob has always appreciated the importance of the media and a strong First Amendment in our democracy. He’s been a great supporter of organizations, including The Media Institute, that work to support a free press and excellence in journalism."
