Discovery Communications names David Kline, ex- Rainbow Media, chief information officer… Pam Kaufman promoted by Nickelodeon/MTVN to chief marketing officer… Douglas G. Wiley, ex-Xspedius, joins Suddenlink in new post of human resources senior vice president… Changes at Salem Communications July 1: Edward Atsinger resigns as president but remains CEO, Eric Halvorson named president and COO, Joe Davis switches from COO to radio division president, David A.R. Evans moves from CFO to president of new business development, interactive and publishing, Evan Masyr named CFO.
The problem with last year’s net neutrality debate was neutrality proponents’ demand that networks be dumb, defying the way communications technology is developing, said AT&T executive Robert Quinn on a panel Tues. sponsored by Wiley Rein. “Dumb networks is a dumb idea,” said Quinn, senior vice president of the company, a net neutrality foe. “It’s all about whether you can put intelligence in the network,” said Jeff Campbell, Cisco director of technology and communications policy. “Some advocates have huge incentives [to assure] there’s no intelligence in the network,” he said. AT&T’s vehemence against having net neutrality conditions placed on its IPTV network played a big role when the FCC was weighing whether to approve the AT&T-BellSouth merger, Quinn said. “We said, ‘That’s a line that can’t be crossed; you can’t apply net neutrality to IPTV'” because it would hinder the company’s ability to draw investors, he told listeners: “If we had to include net neutrality, it would prohibit us from doing IPTV.”
Media ownership and TV violence were among policy issues on which NAB joint TV-Radio board members were briefed this week at the group’s summer board meeting, NAB said. Marsha MacBride, legal & regulatory affairs exec. vp, brought members up to speed on those topics. Exec. Vp. Doug Wiley updated the board on bills to curtail direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads. The board got an update on NAB’s role in the streaming radio royalties debate from CFO Mike Williams.
The post-Telecom Act generation of communications attorneys is populous and prosperous, drawn to the industry by a new legislative environment and subsequent telecom and tech booms, according to lawyers we spoke with. For this collective analysis, Communications Daily decided to profile young attorneys who were mentioned as especially promising by multiple sources -- often off the record -- and the system in which they operate. Many belong to the FCBA Young Lawyers Committee (YLC), open to communications lawyers under 35 or with fewer than 7 years in practice; those were roughly the criteria -- with minor exceptions -- for this article.
Public broadcasters view FCC proposals to Congress to regulate TV violence as aimed mainly at their commercial counterparts, but fear the impact will spill onto public TV programs, as occurred with indecency rulings. “If the FCC is empowered to regulate ‘violence’ there will be a chilling effect on public media producers, who will fear being fined by a powerful government agency second-guessing their artistic and editorial choice,” said Louis Wiley, exec. editor of Frontline, a documentary series WGBH Boston produces for PBS.
Wiley Rein led American Lawyer’s list of U.S. law firms ranked by 2006 profit per partner, aided by its $245 million cut of a settlement between NTP and Research In Motion over the BlackBerry. The firm’s profit per equity partner was $4.4 million last year, the highest in the survey’s 22 years. The Wachtell firm, list leader since 1998, fell to 2nd at just under $4 million a partner. Skadden Arps had the highest revenue, $1.9 billion, the magazine said.
FCC Chmn. Martin used Tues.’s FCBA Chairman’s Dinner to poke fun at the stern reaction he received to some of last year’s jokes. Martin was taken to task by Sen. Boxer (D-Cal.) at a March hearing for joking during the Dec. 2005 Chairman’s Dinner about the “KGB-like atmosphere” at the FCC on his watch. Boxer said she didn’t find his comments funny.
Congress’s promised oversight of telecom issues has resulted in many hearings but little legislation the first 3 months of the 110th Congress. For telcos, cable and related telecom companies, that’s a good thing, lobbyists and industry sources told us. Democrats are taking their time studying issues before framing an agenda, and oversight hearings have helped tighten operations at the FCC and NTIA, sources said.
Bennett Ross, ex-BellSouth D.C. gen. counsel, becomes partner at Wiley Rein… Freedom Technologies names Fred Wentland, ex-NTIA, senior vp… CNN Newsource Sales promotes Ed Stephen to senior vp-gen. mgr… Greg Lorenzetti, Titan Partners, joins Novatel Wireless board… Jason Donnell, ex- Plaff Equity, joins Communications Equity Assoc. as dir.- investment banking… Karen Aliabadi, ex-Federal Home Loan Band of Seattle, becomes Fisher Communications vp- human resources… World Wrestling Entertainment promotes Frank Serpe to CFO… Nielsen names Mitchell Habib, ex- Citigroup, exec. vp-global business services.
The FCC should approve radio multicasting (CD Jan 8 p1) so stations can expand HD services, iBiquity Pres. Robert Struble told Chmn. Martin on Feb. 21. IBiquity executives told Martin and his media adviser Heather Dixon that “regulatory delays [are] impacting HD Radio rollout,” according to a copy their presentation in an ex parte filing. “Regulators in other countries [are] looking to FCC for guidance” to “restore regulatory clarity” for in-band on- channel operations digital operations, the presentation said. Former FCC Chmn. Richard Wiley also attended the meeting. A Commission order approving radio multicasting and nighttime AM broadcasting has been on the 8th floor for months as officials.