Michelle Carey Named Media Bureau Chief

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai today announced that Michelle M. Carey will be chief of the commission’s Media Bureau, continuing the work she has been doing as acting chief.

“As we work to modernize our media rules to match today’s marketplace, we will continue to rely on Michelle’s experience and talent,” Pai said. “As acting chief, Michelle has already started the agency’s review of its media regulations, advanced the next-generation transmission standard for TV broadcasters, worked to revitalize AM radio services, and eased burdens on noncommercial broadcasters. I am very pleased she has agreed to continue this work as bureau chief.”

The commission said the Media Bureau “plays a key role in promoting innovation in the media marketplace, as it develops, recommends, and administers the policy and licensing programs relating to the media industry, including cable television, broadcast television, and radio. It also handles post-licensing matters for satellite services and releases public reports on the data collected from the industry.” 

Before serving as acting chief, Carey served for six years as deputy chief of the bureau she now leads. She has also been as a senior adviser to the assistant secretary at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in the Department of Commerce.

Carey was also a senior legal adviser to then-FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and previously held senior leadership positions in the agency’s Wireline Competition Bureau.

Carey received her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. from Georgetown University.