Some Say Obama Should Let Baker Stay at NTIA Through DTV Transition
Meredith Baker should have the option of staying on as acting NTIA administrator at least through the Feb. 17 analog TV cutoff, said government and industry officials involved in the transition. The Obama administration would be wise to let Baker, a Republican appointed under President George W. Bush, to stay on. Baker is focusing on the conversion to digital broadcasting (CD Nov 22 p3) OR (CED Nov 22 p4), not the future of her job, she said.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
An extended Baker presence would lend continuity to the DTV transition at the NTIA, government and industry officials told us. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is expected to leave as chairman soon after Obama’s inauguration, but other members and commission staff can oversee the transition, they said. “There’s a very large professional staff” at the FCC, where “the big decisions have been made” already, said CEA President Gary Shapiro. The post-inaugural NTIA will differ from the FCC and its “hundreds of career government employees,” said Commissioner Robert McDowell. “There would be at the FCC a minimum of three commissioners on board during the transition, which means we can keep the FCC open for business, maintain a quorum and vote on emergency items if needed.”
“Meredith Baker has got high marks from all quarters for her handling of her part of the DTV transition,” McDowell said. “It makes an infinite amount of sense to keep her in that position until the coupon program ends on March 31.” Martin and Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein declined to comment. The other FCC members couldn’t be reached.
Baker “feels she has a job to complete this project,” said Shapiro. “You can’t change your horse in the middle of the race.” He thinks the Bush administration erred after its last NTIA administrator, John Kneuer, left, when it revealed plans to name Neil Patel, an aide to Vice President Richard Cheney, to head the agency. “The Bush administration for reasons totally beyond my comprehension didn’t nominate her [Baker] to fill that slot,” Shapiro said. “The fact that she’s staying on despite the flap from the White House” is laudable, he added. “She’s kept up morale there, she’s done a phenomenal job running the program. I would be absolutely shocked if the administration did not want her to stay there through February. It’s a no-brainer. I'm sure they know that.” A spokeswoman for the Obama transition team declined to comment.
CE retailers think Baker has done a good job, said Chris McLean, executive director of the Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition. “She really did come into a tough situation and persevered,” considering she held an “acting” position, he said. Retailers “have appreciated her working closely with the private sector to get this transition done - - despite the fact that she had very limited resources except the coupons to advance the DTV transition,” he added. An NAB spokesman said broadcasters think Baker has done a good job. “She has handled the DTV challenge with dedication and integrity,” he said. “Obviously, the Obama administration will decide on the timing of the NTIA leadership transition.” The NCTA declined to comment, and officials at DirecTV and Dish Network didn’t have any comment by our deadline.
Baker told reporters Thursday that she doesn’t “know what the future holds for me” but hopes her next job is as “interesting” as her current one. She declined to comment for this story. An NTIA spokesman reiterated that Baker is “committed to ensuring the digital TV transition goes smoothly and the new administration transition as well.”