Big-name transient Democrats said to be up for MPAA

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For decades, the Motion Picture Association of America did not have to worry about who would lead its operations in Washington – those duties were ably handled by the late and legendary Jack Valenti. But now Valenti’s successor is leaving MPAA, and the search for a new leader is on.


Two high-profile Democrats are soon to be available for consideration, and according to a recent New York Times article, they remain possibilities for the position.

One is Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), who is serving the last weeks of his time in the Senate after declining to seek re-election. Dodd had a brush with scandal concerning loans received, but was in the news as the Democratic point man on legislation designed to rein in Wall Street firms.

The other is New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), also about to step down from office. Richardson is a former ambassador to the United Nations, and has run for president in Democratic primary contests. He also had a brush with scandal in his home state, but the case against him went nowhere.

Politico.com says that Richardson previously said he had no interest in the position, but his name has come back up nevertheless. Staff for neither of the two have been willing to comment.

Current MPAA head Dan Glickman announced his exit earlier this fall. He’s been in the post since 2004.

RBR-TVBR observation: The interests of the movie industry and broadcasters are not often directly related, although there is overlap in the area of content. The two industries have parallel concerns when it comes to indecency, program content descriptors and to an extent, freedom of speech.