Let's see, stay in the filled swamp that is Washington, D.C. in the midst of a heat wave or visit Hawaii. Tough choice, but FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski bucked up and visited Hawaii where he stopped to see first responders and a telemedicine facility and toured Oceanic Time Warner.
He also took time to address the Hawaii Association of Broadcasters luncheon, where he reiterated the need for finding broadband spectrum somewhere to fill the nation's wireless needs and the FCC's national broadband plan.
His talk apparently didn't threaten the local broadcasters, who were generally pleased that Genachowski had left his Washington digs to visit the islands.
"It's nice to see the people that run the various agencies getting out of Washington, coming out into the markets ... and finding out how the policies and rules and regulations they implement actually affect real people," said Chuck Cotton, HAB secretary-treasurer and VP/GM of Clear Channel Radio's seven Honolulu radio stations.
Cotton's takeaway: Genachowski's plans don't threaten broadcasters. "He's trying to develop a strategy. He seems to have the interests of broadcasters and the public at heart."
Meanwhile, back in the nation's sauna--er, capitol--Bruce Gottlieb, chief counsel and Genachowski's senior advisor will leave that post at the end of July to become general counsel for Atlantic Media. He'll be replaced by Rick Kaplan, chief of staff for Commissioner Mignon Clyburn.
For more:
- see this story
- and this news release
- and this story
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