Taking Stock Of Two Now At The Top

[Commentary] Who are these guys? On paper, former-Sen Gordon Smith (R-OR) is exactly what the National Association of Broadcasters needs -- somebody who can get the right meetings with the right people on Capitol Hill. NAB members may also appreciate that Smith is a businessman, too. After practicing law for a spell in New Mexico and Arizona, he returned to Oregon to run the family-owned Smith Frozen Foods. While a senator, Smith joined Sen John Kerry (D-MA) in sponsoring a bill that would open up spectrum to unlicensed wireless devices. In other words, he was not on broadcasters' side of the red-hot white spaces debate. But on the positive side, that means Smith won't have trouble dealing with Democrats, which is a good thing. One of former National Association of Broadcasters head David Rehr's problems was that he had trouble connecting with Democrats. In his pre-NAB glory days, Rehr was close to Tom Delay, the one-time House Majority Leader and, in the minds of many Democrats, the devil incarnate. TVB's Gary Belis says Lanzano will be its first president to come directly from the agency ranks. It's a good move. The TVB president's principal job is convincing national advertisers and their media planners and buyers that they ought to be pouring more money into national and local spot. Who better to make the case than a recent member of the club? It's the same logic that NAB used in hiring Smith. Lanzano is also a forward-thinking executive.