The FCC can do more to elevate rigorous decision-making

It is no secret that partisan politics infiltrated and shook the Federal Communications Commission’s decision-making during the waning years of the Obama administration. The rise of political considerations in FCC decisions, and the concomitant decline in substantive considerations, are also symptoms of a larger problem at the FCC; namely an organizational structure that encourages a silo mentality, favors people with legal training over people schooled in analysis, and muffles expert voices. There are several options for restructuring the FCC, but any successful reorganization must emphasize function over antiquated silos. As David Honig wrote in a recent law review article: The FCC’s “structural organization in ‘silos’ that match up with technologies it regulates—media, wireline and wireless—should be replaced with an organization based on functions—policy, economics, licensing, grantmaking, and engineering.”