NAB's CEO Slams Genachowski's FCC Tenure

At a Media Institute luncheon, National Association of Broadcasters President Gordon Smith blasted former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski for his single-minded obsession with fostering wireless broadband and called on current FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler "to put as much effort into ensuring our world leadership in broadcast as he does in broadband."

Smith urged Chairman Wheeler to "meaningfully and efficiently review" the broadcast ownership limits so station can compete better, to allow "flexibility" in broadcast networks and to preserve broadcasters' retransmission consent rights. Smith rebuked the "myopic" Genachowski FCC for doing whatever it could for wireless broadband, while ignoring broadcasting, despite all the public good that it does. Last March after he announced his intention to leave the agency, Chairman Genachowski, Smith said, released a list of his accomplishments. "It catalogued approximately 50 items, including proceedings undertaken and industry investments. What I found most notable about the list was that there was not a single accomplishment outside of the broadband realm. Not one. And there was no mention of the ways in which the commission helped support the U.S. broadcast industry in its mission of serving every local community."

(Nov 21)