With a new administration, one would assume that by now, the White House would have nominated its choice for Chairman of the FCC.
It hasn’t happened, and it is nothing less than “a really weird situation,” says Fletcher Heald & Hildreth partner Francisco Montero.
How weird is it? At the Hispanic Radio Conference in Miami on Thursday, Montero suggested that, if the Biden Administration does nothing, the FCC could end up with a Republican majority again.
Montero moderated a conference session focused on what the “new FCC” means for Hispanic radio. The topic was set weeks ago, with the assumption that there would no longer be an “acting” Chairwoman, Jessica Rosenworcel, at the helm.
She’s still in the acting role. Could the seat be formally given to her? “It’s no secret to anybody that she really wants the job,” Montero said.
Yet, the White House has been silent on nominating Rosenworcel, whose time at the Commission has been marred by political sparring. Already, she’s been forced to pack up her belongings and go home, only to return after being nominated for a Democratic seat by former President Donald Trump.
The scenario could repeat itself, and while it is highly unlikely, the possibility itself is an absurdist truth: Rosenworcel’s term is up soon. And, if Biden doesn’t act, a Republican 2-1 FCC majority would come to fruition.
What’s going on? Montero went so far as to ask if there was something “toxic” about Rosenworcel.
Adam Cassady, Media Advisor to FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington, bluntly replied, “No.”
He noted that his office has worked really well with her and her team. “We’ve collaborated on items and it has been collegial,” Cassady said. “We’ve really benefitted from acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel’s leadership.”
Is that the problem for Team Biden … that Rosenworcel’s bipartisan support goes against the White House’s possible desire to have a Net Neutrality champion such as Gigi Sohn in the Chairman’s slot, picking up where Tom Wheeler left off?
Radio industry leaders at the Hispanic Radio Conference shuddered when such a suggestion was made by Montero.
On the panel, veteran media broker Michael J. Bergner took aim at the FCC’s subcap rules. “Radio was ripped, and really just put on its ass, by COVID,” he said. “Deregulation? It has to happen to save the business. It is a melting ice cube.”
Bergner also reiterated comments made in an interview set to appear in the Fall 2021 RBR+TVBR Special Edition, available September 30 to registered TVB Forward Conference participants and October 4 to RBR+TVBR daily headlines e-mail subscribers.
The panel also included the participation of noted multicultural media consultant Sherman Kizart and Radiotvlaw Associates attorney Anthony Lepore.
For Lepore, prompted by Montero, one of the biggest matters that hasn’t been addressed by Congress or the FCC is marijuana advertising on radio.
“Without a statutory solution on this issue, it’s problematic,” Lepore said.
