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NAB's Gordon Smith Talks About FCC's Wheeler, Newsroom Study On C-SPAN
July 3, 2014 at 4:27 AM (PT)
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NAB President/CEO GORDON SMITH appeared on C-SPAN's "THE COMMUNICATORS" with host PETER SIEN and COMMUNICATIONS DAILY's MONTY TAYLOE to discuss the AEREO decision by the SUPREME COURT, and in the process discussed a range of other topics related to the broadcast industry.
On the show, after an extensive discussion of the AEREO case and broadcasters' concerns over the television spectrum auction proposal, SMITH, asked about his impressions of FCC Chairman TOM WHEELER, said, "I like TOM, he's a smart guy, I think he's trying to get done everything he can as fast as he can with the time remaining, he's got a job to do. I like him. But I am disappointed that the narrative that sort of came with him that he finds offensive -- and I understand why -- as a former chairman of wireless, and then of cable, a lot of the decisions that have come up seem to be very biased in that direction, to the injury of broadcasting."
On the controversial newsroom study proposed by WHEELER, SMITH called the study "a regulator getting into the editorial rooms of broadcasters, and I think there were real First Amendment concerns about that approach. That said, I think the FCC's motives were not to infringe upon the first amendment, but to get the critical information they wanted to have. But it's frankly hard to do without... the state getting into editorial decisions of newsrooms."
Asked by TAYLOE how the FCC can comply with Congress' requirement that it get data on newsroom operations, SMITH said it would be "very difficult. I don't have an answer for that."
See the show by clicking here.

