President Richard M. Nixon appointed Loomis in September 1972 as president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, overseeing money to be allocated to public television stations, in an appointment that Time magazine described as evidence that "the localists appear to have won the battle" [REF].
In December 1977, Loomis announced that he would step down as president when his term ended in September 1978, or would leave earlier if a successor was selected [REF].