Genachowski Nominated To Head FCC

By Jeffrey Yorke of Radio and Records Magazine

It's official: President Obama nominated Julius Genachowski (pictured) as chairman of the FCC on Tuesday (March 3).

The appointment, which awaits Senate confirmation, has been rumored for months and appeared to be even closer to fact two weeks ago when, during an appearance on Fox News Sunday, senior presidential advisor David Axelrod deflected a question about the Fairness Doctrine and said, "I’m going to leave that question to Julius Genachowski, our new head of the FCC."

In a statement released by the White House on Tuesday, President Obama said, "I can think of no one better than Julius Genachowski to serve as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He will bring to the job diverse and unparalleled experience in communications and technology, with two decades of accomplishment in the private sector and public service."

"President Obama has made an excellent choice in announcing his intent to nominate Julius Genachowski to be the next chairman of the FCC," said FCC commissioner Michael Copps, also a Democrat who Obama picked to serve as acting chairman on Jan. 21 until Genachowski can take the reins. "Julius has the knowledge, experience and dedication to lead this agency forward as we tackle the many challenges confronting the country -- and the Commission. I look forward to the prospect of working with him on a communications agenda focused on serving consumers and the public interest. He will find here a talented and energized team of public servants committed to precisely this goal. I wish him a successful Senate confirmation."

Republican commissioner Robert McDowell also congratulated Genachowski on the nomination and said, “He will bring a valuable perspective to the Commission with his experience not only in government but also in the private sector. I look forward to working closely with Mr. Genachowski on the many important communications challenges that lie ahead for the American people.”
NAB president/CEO David Rehr said, "Julius Genachowski has a keen intellect, a passion for public service, and a deep understanding of the important role that free and local broadcasting plays in American life. NAB salutes President Obama on this superb choice to lead the FCC."

For Genachowski, 46, it is a return to the agency where he once served as a top legal and technical advisor to former FCC chairman Reed Hundt during the Clinton Administration. More recently, Genachowski, a college chum of Obama's, is credited with serving as the technology guru behind the President's massive and wildly successful Internet campaign that ultimately attracted million of dollars in donations and gave the average Internet contributor a sense of political might and worthiness.

Genachowski also played an important role in shaping Obama's telecommunications and technology policies. He is a proponent of ownership rules that promote diversity in media. Immediately after the Nov. 4 election victory, his name was linked to not only the FCC as its possible chairman, and as a possibility to head National Telecommunications & Information Administration, but also to a position that likely would have been created just for him, the nation's first chief technology officer. While that position was discussed as a possible presidential cabinet-level job, Genachowski's interest in it reportedly wavered at some point in December as the job description was crafted and included too little, if any, purview over any one government agency. It is unclear if there will be such a position in the current administration.

Since then, Genachowski's interest has been on the more powerful and perhaps influential FCC position. And his nomination has been closely watched in the technology industry because of both President Obama and Genachowski’s known interest in expanding high-speed internet service throughout the United States and making Internet technology a major financial engine in the American economy.

Genachowski met Obama at Columbia University, but the two became friendly while attending Harvard Law School. His parents were Eastern European Jews who fled during the Holocaust. His wife, Rachel Goslins, is a documentary filmmaker whose latest film, "Bama Girl," documents the 2005 homecoming queen contest at the University of Alabama.

Genachowski also has significant private sector experience, sometimes a rarity in bureaucratic Washington, D.C. He worked for eight years as a top executive with Barry Diller's IAC/Interactive Corporation and he was founder and managing partner of Rock Creek Ventures, an investment and advisory firm specializing in digital media that created LaunchBox Digital. He also was part of the founding of the nation's first commercial "green" bank.