Some Say NAB Should Pick Someone Who Knows TV, Radio as Next Chief

That’s because broadcasters face a wide array of pressing issues on Capitol Hill and the new chief will have to understand them from day one, said radio and TV executives. A pending bill requiring radio stations to pay performance royalties and a renewal of satellite programming legislation that must pass this year are among them, they said. Lawyer David Oxenford, who has radio and TV station clients, listed nine issues now before Congress, the FCC or courts that the next NAB head will face, with the DTV transition in 36 days.

“Maybe they need two people: A high powered lobbyist and someone who really knows the industry,” Oxenford said in an interview. “There is just so much going on that it is a huge role for one person to fill.” Oxenford and others pointed to the relationship Eddie Fritts, NAB’s longtime president, had with Jim May. Fritts was a former broadcaster also known for close relationships with members of Congress while May headed up lobbying efforts, said Oxenford and others.

While having worked in broadcasting shouldn’t be a prerequisite for the job, “we don’t need any lobbyists, but rather someone who can accomplish the challenges and address the critical issues facing the broadcasting industry,” said Greater Media Chairman Peter Smyth, on the NAB radio board. “We do not want a polarizing individual. He or she needs to have an understanding of the issues at hand and can execute strategy to deliver positive results.” The person shouldn’t “be afraid to question the status quo,” said Smyth, who often does just that (CD May 6 p8).

The group’s next president must have a relationship with members of the Senate and House Commerce and Judiciary committees, which deal with broadcasting-related matters, said several NAB members. “Coming from the radio side I'd like to see him have some radio background, but I also think it’s very important that they have contacts on the Hill,” said Martin Gausvik, chief financial officer of Cumulus Media, the No. 2 U.S. radio broadcaster. “If you can find someone with that type of background, no question, that would be helpful. A lot of stuff kind of fell through the cracks under this last administration.”

Gausvik and others said whether the next NAB chief is a Democrat or Republican is less important than being able to work with both parties. “I think whoever it is they ought to have good relations with all” committees having oversight of broadcasting, said Jerald Fritz, senior vice president of Allbritton Communications, owner of seven TV stations. “Whether it’s a Democrat or not, someone has to have access - - that’s what critical to us,” along with access to FCC commissioners, he added. “We want someone who is steeped in these issues now so we don’t have to come up to speed to teach the incoming person the intricacies of copyright law.” Still, Fritz thinks the NAB is more likely to pick a Democrat as it’s next head.

The departure of Rehr could have been planned more carefully, but a change in leadership should work out in the end to the benefit of the industry, said NAB members. “There’s never a good time to have a leadership change” and now isn’t any different, said Fritz. Rehr is “leaving the NAB without a leader at a time when the Association is facing an incredible number of challenges in Washington,” Oxenford wrote in a blog Thursday on his firm’s Web site. “Obviously the transition could have been better,” said Gausvik of Cumulus. “But like I said I think this is going to work out positive for us.”