The New FCC

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell and Commissioner Gloria Tristani have been joined by three new commissioners, each with considerable Washington experience. The three fill seats vacated by former FCC Chairman Bill Kennard, and Commissioners Susan Ness and Harold Furchtgott-Roth.

Republican Kathleen Abernathy fills a term expiring in June 2005. A lawyer, she is very well known in Washington communications law circles, thanks to her service in several high-level staff positions at the FCC and her prominence in the private bar. Until recently, she served as Vice President for Public Policy for BroadBand Office, a start-up telecommunications company in Northern Virginia. Prior to that position, Ms. Abernathy served as a vice president for US West and for AirTouch Communications. She also has worked in several law firms. In 1996-97, Ms. Abernathy served as President of the Federal Communications Bar Association.

Earlier in her career, Abernathy was a personal legal advisor to then-FCC Chairman James Quello for telecommunications issues. She also worked as a legal aide to Commissioner Sherrie Marshall and was a special assistant to the agency’s General Counsel. Ms. Abernathy earned a bachelor’s degree from Marquette University and her law degree from Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law.

Democrat Michael Copps fills a term expiring in June 2004. The only nonlawyer among the new Commissioners, Mr. Copps is a veteran of Capitol Hill. From 1970 until 1985, he worked for Sen. Ernest Hollings (D.-S.C.), first as an administrative aide and then as Chief of Staff. Sen. Hollings currently is the Ranking Member on the Commerce Committee, which is chaired by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Mr. Copps moved into the private sector in the late 1980s, working in legislative affairs for the American Meat Institute and Collins & Aikman Corp., a Fortune 500 company. He went into the Executive Branch in the 1990s, serving in the Clinton administration’s Commerce Department. From 1993 until 1998, Mr. Copps was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Basic Industries Trade Development; he was appointed to the position of Assistant Secretary for Trade Development in 1998. Mr. Copps earned a bachelor’s degree from Wofford College and a Ph.D. in American history from the University of North Carolina.

Former WRF associate Kevin Martin fills a term expiring in June 2006. Also a lawyer, Martin has both political campaign experience and a Commission stint on his resume. He signed on to the Bush campaign in 1999, serving as Deputy General Counsel for that effort. Since the election, Mr. Martin has worked the Bush administration’s FCC transition team leader and as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy.

From 1997 until 1999, Mr. Martin served as Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth’s legal advisor on common carrier and wireless issues. Prior to that, Mr. Martin worked for Kenneth Starr in the Office of Independent Counsel. Mr. Martin began his legal career as an associate here at WRF, where he worked primarily for broadcasters and cable programmers. His exposure to virtually all aspects of telecommunications regulation should serve him well in his new position. Mr. Martin earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina, a master’s degree from Duke University, and a law degree from Harvard University.

Current Commissioner Gloria Tristani, a Democrat, has informally indicated that she is likely to step down by the end of the year, although her term runs to 2003. If so, President Bush will have the opportunity to name yet another FCC commissioner.

As these appointees settle in, the Commission prepares to face an array of pending—or soon to be pending—proceedings important to broadcasters. Among them is a proposal to modify or jettison the decades-old newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule, which currently bars station owners from holding interests in a daily newspaper serving the same community. The FCC was scheduled to launch that rulemaking proceeding at its monthly meeting in May, but later deleted it from the agenda. That action was widely understood as reflecting disagreements among the then-current Commissioners as to the scope of the proposal.

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