FCC’s Genachowski Got His Way, But at What Cost

[Commentary] I call it a missed opportunity. Had Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski gone with the broadcasters' compromise on posting political advertising online, reporters in the lead-up to the Nov. 6 general election would have been able to go online and quickly and easily find how much each candidate, PAC and political advocacy was spending for spots on any station. Such info would have provided the reporters and other interested parties all the data necessary to deduce the advertising tactics of the candidates and causes — arguably the biggest factor in determining winners and losers. The compromise had the beauty of simplicity. In essence, stations would provide all information about the sponsor of a particular spot it had, be it candidate, PAC or advocacy group; report the amount of the latest buy; and give running totals for each sponsor. The info would be presented in a common format that anybody could understand. In the 60 days before a general election, the broadcasters would make the info available every other day; and, in the last week, they would post it every day. But Chairman Genachowski wanted nothing to do with the compromise.