Thomas Navin, ex-FCC Wireline Bureau chief, joins Wiley Rein as partner… Thomas Lenard, ex-Progress and Freedom Foundation, becomes president of iGrowthGlobal, replacing founder Garland McCoy, who moves to chief development officer… United Mobile names Charles Fraenkl, ex-AOL, CEO… Rick Timmins, ex-Cisco, joins Liquid Computing board… Gemstar-TV Guide names Tucker Snedeker, ex- Bluestreak Technology, to new position of executive director, mobile entertainment group… Time Warner promotes Jeffrey Bewkes to become CEO Jan. 1, replacing Richard Parsons, who will remain chairman.

Also at the SPJ convention, Society officials were critical of the Radio-TV News Directors Association for sending lawyer James Bayes of Wiley Rein instead of a TV station news director to discuss the use by TV stations of video news releases. RTNDA has called FCC letters of inquiry to TV stations and cable networks into the use of VNRs an “unprecedented regulatory intrusion into newsroom operations” and, in response to that inquiry, told the FCC that the Communications Act doesn’t require sponsorship identification of VNRs provided by outsiders “unless they involve political or controversial issues.” John Stauberg of the Center for Media and Democracy -- which filed a complaint against TV stations’ use of VNRs without proper identification at FCC -- said: “We're not against their use. We're against their use disguised as news.” Bayes complained about what he called the government’s attempt to move into “the newsroom to supervise editorial decisions.” Jerry Dunklee of the SPJ Ethics Committee, said that without proper identification of the source of VNRs, “we are in effect lying to the public.”

Top officials from Sirius, including CEO Mel Karmazin, Scott Greenstein, president of entertainment and sports, CFO David Frear and General Counsel Patrick Donnelly, met with FCC staffers from the Media and International bureaus and office of General Counsel to discuss the pending merger with XM, according to a filing at the FCC. They were accompanied by former FCC Chairman Dick Wiley, longtime counsel to Sirius.

The FCC has “done little” to narrow the digital divide, Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said at a forum sponsored by nonprofit One Economy. “Lack of access in an increasing reality in dividing the rich from the poor,” Durbin said, criticizing the Commission for not dedicating a bureau to promoting creation of broadband networks. Durbin, now using online contributions to draft a broadband bill, said his measure will call for a new source of federal financing to boost broadband access and reform the Agriculture Department Rural Utilities Services program to make sure that broadband money goes to “truly rural” places. Durbin said he went online five nights to talk with bloggers about ideas for the bill, a process he’s calling Legislation 2.0. The interactive experience was “exciting and productive,” Durbin said. Former FCC Chairmen William Kennard and Dick Wiley and telecom analyst Blair Levin spoke on a panel at the Thursday event, hashing over issues facing the Commission and FCC. As the 2008 election nears, there will be little telecom-related legislation, Kennard said, and it also will be difficult to get anything done at the FCC involving “contentious” matters. “Paralysis sets in during the spring of an election year,” he said. With primaries “front loaded,” the campaign is starting even earlier than usual, Kennard said, calling the digital transition the commission’s biggest hurdle. “It is a train wreck waiting to happen” if mishandled, Kennard said, noting that a new FCC chairman probably will oversee the transition in 2009. Levin agreed that “we're not going to see a lot of action in Congress” but he said broadband access still will be discussed. “The number one thing that the new FCC chairman will face in 2009 is the digital transition,” Levin said. Candidates will talk about the DTV transition, Wiley said, because it’s an issue that people outside the Beltway can understand.

The NAB criticized Microsoft’s call for more testing of a device designed to operate in broadcast white spaces without causing interference, after the FCC Office of Engineering and technology gave the device a failing grade. “Microsoft doesn’t seem to get that the FCC process is not a game and they cannot have a do-over,” NAB Executive Vice President Douglas Wiley said in a letter to Jack Krumholtz, managing director of federal government affairs at Microsoft. It’s “outrageous” that Microsoft claims the device works “after the fact,” Wiley said. “With the immense importance of the testing to innumerable stakeholders, one would think that your industry would certainly ensure the good working order of the prototype devices, at the very least.” Meanwhile, the Community Broadcasters Association expressed strong concerns about the OET data. “CBA is obviously alarmed at the OET findings that prototype White Space devices do not reliably detect the presence of usable broadcast signals,” the group said in a filing at the FCC. “If these professional devices failed to exclude channels that might be occupied by weak television broadcast signals, CBA fears that the performance of consumer-grade devices will be disastrous.”

Sirius will not offer channels a la carte to subscribers if its $11 billion proposed merger with XM Satellite Radio is not approved, Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin said Monday at the National Press Club. “If the merger was not going to happen, we would have no plans to offer a la carte,” he said. Sirius and XM said Monday that the merged companies would offer a la carte options to subscribers buying new radios. Existing gear will not work with a la carte.

National Association of Broadcasters moves: Doug Wiley promoted to new position of executive vice president of administration and agencies; Laurie Knight promoted to replace Wiley as executive vice president of government relations; Meredith Long promoted to director of congressional and membership outreach; Robin Oxford hired as director of state association and membership outreach… Broadcast Cable Financial Management Association’s new board:

FCC Commissioner Deborah Tate picks Chris Moore>, ex- FCC Office of Legislative Affairs, as legal adviser … Embarq named Ellen Martin> vice president of state external affairs; Claudia Toussaint> to head the regulatory law group and Linda Gardner is vice president, regulatory affairs… Diane Cornell, Inmarsat, becomes president of the Federal Communications Bar Association; Robert Pettit, Wiley Rein, becomes treasurer; Mark Schneider, Sidley Austin, president- elect; Richard Whitt, Google, secretary; Laura Phillips, Drinker Biddle & Reath, assistant secretary; Bryan Tramont, Wilkinson Barker Knauer, assistant treasurer… Fortune Industries names Steve Hise chief financial officer… Siemens AG CEO Peter Loscher joins board of Nokia Siemens Networks, replacing ex-CEO Klaus Kleinfeld… Tribune director Christopher Reyes to quit July 18… Bud Tibshrany retired Friday from Time Warner Cable as vice president of public affairs for S.C. unit… Charlie Rahilly promoted by Clear Channel to Premiere Radio president… Discovery Communications promotes Kristen Welch, Ben Teicher and Doug Baker to CFOs for various networks. Jason Kilar, ex Amazon.com, named CEO of online video joint venture of NBC Universal and News Corp… James DeLong leaves Progress & Freedom Foundation to start Convergence Law Institute, a technology law practice of Kamlet Shepherd & Reichert… Katherine Styponias, ex-Prudential Equity, joins Microsoft as general manager of the Media & Entertainment Group.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) will ask the FCC to expand customer proprietary network information (CPNI) rules to cover handset manufacturers and not just carriers, Staff Counsel Melissa Ngo said Thursday during a Federal Communications Bar Association lunch. Meanwhile, Bennett Ross, chairman of the telephony practice at Wiley Rein, said parts of the CPNI rules approved by the FCC in March (CD March 15 p2) are causing major confusion for carriers.

XM and Sirius compete not only with one other but with “terrestrial radio, pre-recorded music devices, mobile phones, and fixed and mobile internet services,” economist and former FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth said. His new report addresses an issue on which the merger’s fate likely hinges: In terms of assessing market power, is satellite radio a unique market or part of a much larger world?