National Association of Broadcasters President Gordon Smith
has re-upped for another five years with the trade association. That will take
him through 2016.
Smith, the former senator from Oregon, has been credited
with helping broadcasters get important interference and coverage protections
in incentive auction legislation.
"NAB membership is happy to have Gordon Smith
navigating our interests in Washington, and we're delighted that he's agreed to
this contract extension," said NAB Board Chairman Paul Karpowicz,
president of Meredith Corporation's Local Media Group.
"I'm thrilled by the vote of confidence by the NAB
Board and membership," said Smith in a statement. "As president of
NAB, I get a first-hand view of the indispensable role that local and network
broadcasters play in serving communities every day with news, entertainment and
life-saving weather warnings. Broadcasters take seriously our role as stewards
of the airwaves, and it is a privilege to represent a diverse membership with a
vibrant future."
The announcement comes as broadcasters prepare to convent in mid-April for their annual convention in Las Vegas.
Smith was tapped to succeed David Rehr as head of NAB in September 2009. Rehr had resigned the previous May, a former beer industry executive who had conceded he had felt like an outsider from the start.
Smith was anything but an outsider. He is a moderate Republican who also has good relationships with Democrats. As a former member of the Senate Commerce and Finance Committees, he knowsthe broadcast issues firsthand. He was also tapped into new media issues as former chair of the Senate's high-tech task force.
