 In 1948, President Harry S. Truman nominated her to be a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, a position never held before by a woman; she was confirmed by the Senate on July 6.Arguing that "television channels represent one of America’s most valuable resources," Hennock sought to mobilize public support for educational television, writing and speaking widely about the importance of television for education and consulting with the Institute for Education by Radio and the National Association of Educational Broadcasters.In congressional hearings in 1950, educators from the Joint Committee on Educational Television were able to produce studies that countered lobbying from the commercial broadcasting industry arguing that non-commercial stations were unnecessary.