It’s Official: Genachowski Leaving The FCC

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski on Friday morning finally officially confirmed the long-expected news that he is bailing out of the agency — but he didn’t say where he’s going or exactly when.

“While I plan to step down as chairman in the coming weeks, today isn’t good-bye,” Genachowski said, during a meeting with the agency’s staff this morning that was streamed on the agency’s website. “Until I leave, I intend to continue fully in my role, focusing on the work of the commission and helping ensure a healthy transition for the agency.”

One of the FCC’s two Republican commissioners — Robert McDowell — cleared the way politically for Genachowski’s long-anticipated announcement by divulging his own plans to resign Wednesday.

Now, if both of the commissioners actually leave before their successors are nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate, the FCC will still have a 2-1 Democratic majority, with Mignon Clyburn, the agency’s senior Democrat, expected to be assigned as the agency’s interim chairman, broadcast industry lobbyists said.

Genachowski, who has been heading the five-person agency for the Obama administration since June 2009, has at best — charitably speaking — been a mixed-bag for broadcasters.

Genachowski has been promoting an incentive auction that will force many broadcasters to move to new channels to make additional spectrum available for smartphones — and many broadcasters feel he has disparaged their concerns about the impact that the initiative will have on broadcasters and viewers.

In addition, he promoted an initiative that requires broadcasters to divulge sensitive political advertising revenue figures — and other station information that had previously been difficult for the public and competitors to access — online. Also on Genachowski’s watch, the agency’s Democrats have been advancing a proposal to make joint sales agreements and shared services agreements attributable going forward and to unwind existing ones within two years.

On the positive side of the ledger for broadcasters, Genachowski resisted cable TV industry pleas to make it harder for broadcasters to negotiate for retransmission consent payments.

“NAB salutes Chairman Genachowski for his years of service at the FCC.” said Gordon Smith, NAB president-CEO, in a statement. “The FCC chair is arguably one of the most difficult jobs in Washington, and yet Julius consistently performed with dedication and focus. We may have disagreed on occasion, but America’s broadcasters wish him well in his journeys ahead.”

President Obama released a statement, praising the outgoing chairman: “I want to thank Chairman Genachowski for his dedicated service on behalf of the American people.  Over the last four years, Julius has brought to the Federal Communications Commission a clear focus on spurring innovation, helping our businesses compete in a global economy and helping our country attract the industries and jobs of tomorrow. Because of his leadership, we have expanded high-speed Internet access, fueled growth in the mobile sector, and continued to protect the open Internet as a platform for entrepreneurship and free speech. I am grateful for his service and friendship, and I wish Julius the best of luck.”

“Chairman Genachowski wisely believed that ubiquitous Internet connectivity would be the defining technology of our day, and his leadership has ensured that America’s robust wired and wireless broadband networks are world class,” said Michael Powell, president of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association and a former FCC chairman. “The entire cable industry is grateful to Chairman Genachowski for his exceptional leadership.”

Genachowski is still scheduled to speak at the NAB’s convention in Las Vegas next month, an NAB spokesman said today. Genachowski is slated to participate in a question-and-answer session moderated by Paul Karpowicz, president, Meredith Corp.’s Local Media Group, and NAB joint-board chairman, during a convention session April 10.

Broadcast industry lobbyists told TVNewsCheck that the two departing commissioners’ successors are expected to be nominated and confirmed as part of a package.

The leading contender to succeed Genachowski as chairman is understood to be Tom Wheeler, a former lobbyist for the wireless and cable TV industries who is now managing director of Core Capital Partner, a Washington, D.C.-based venture capital firm. Wheeler, a major Obama campaign fundraiser, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Other Democrats who have been widely reported to be interested in the agency’s top slot include Karen Kornbluh, a former Obama aide; Larry Strickling, head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; and Catherine Sandoval, a California Public Utilities Commission member.

The leading candidates who have tossed their hats into the ring to succeed McDowell for the GOP slot, according to broadcast industry insiders are: Michael O’Rielly, a top adviser to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas); Doug Schwartz, staff director of the Senate Republican Conference Committee; Ray Baum, senior policy adviser to Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore.; Neil Fried, chief counsel for the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee; and A.B. Cruz III, a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy Reserve who formerly worked for Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. and as an attorney for Wiley Rein LLP.

O’Rielly, a former House Commerce Committee staffer, is believed to have an inside angle on the slot because Cornyn is Senate Republican whip, and that gives him important Senate support.

Baum, however, also could get the nod, according to some lobbyists, if the Senate decides to let House leaders pick their candidate this time around. Ajit Pai, the most recent GOP nominee to the FCC, was the candidate of Senate Republican leaders, and sometimes the Senate and House have been known to take turns on candidates for federal agencies.

Schwartz is also well placed because the conference is chaired by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who is also the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee. Thune could also have a major say over a GOP candidate’s selection.

At deadline, O’Rielly, Schwartz, Baum and Fried had not returned calls. Cruz could not be reached for comment.

On the Democratic side, lobbyists say the chairmanship is Wheeler’s if he wants it. Wheeler is not known to have any significant industry opposition, according to broadcast sources. One broadcast source said that the fact that Wheeler previously worked as a lobbyist for the wireless and cable industries could even work in the broadcast industry’s favor, because Wheeler will want to bend over backward to avoid the perception that he’s pro-cable or pro-wireless.

Sources also said it could take months for new commissioners to get on board because potential nominees have to go through a vetting process that can be particularly time-consuming for prospective candidates who are not already working for the government.