The applause, and a cautionary note or two, continued Friday
for the WhiteHouse's nomination of Michael O'Rielly to succeed Robert McDowell in the
FCC's open Republican seat.
"NAB congratulates Michael O'Rielly on his nomination
to the FCC," said National Association of Broadcasters president Gordon Smith.
"He will bring years of public policy experience and a deep breadth of
knowledge on telecom issues to the Commission. Once confirmed, we look forward
to working with him on matters of critical importance to free and local
broadcasting."
"Mike O'Rielly is an excellent choice for the FCC and I
applaud President Obama for his selection," said Julie Kearney, VP of
regulatory affairs for the Consumer Electronics Association. "Mike has the
keen ability to see the big picture while never losing sight of the details. We
saw this during his tenure on Capitol Hill when he was working tirelessly to
ensure a successful DTV transition. Mike is thoughtful, smart and tenacious. We
look forward to working with Mike, particularly as the FCC moves forward with
incentive auctions, and urge a speedy confirmation."
"We are delighted that President Obama announced that he
intends to nominate Michael O'Rielly to serve as FCC Commissioner," said
AT&T senior VP Bob Quinn. "He will bring extensive public service
experience, communications policy expertise and practical know-how to the FCC,
invaluable assets that will serve him well at the agency."
"We applaud the appointment of Mike O'Rielly to serve
as FCC commissioner. With his long history working on communications policy
issues on Capitol Hill, Mike will bring valuable insight and experience to FCC
proceedings," said Jonathan Spalter, chairman of Mobile Future. Spalter
also put in a plug for that other nominee. "We urge the Senate to move
this nomination forward and vote to confirm FCC Chair-Nominee Tom Wheeler, as
quickly as possible."
But not everyone was using both hands to applaud. The
Parents Television Council kept one hand free for a red flag clenched in a
fist.
"We congratulate Mr. O'Rielly on his FCC nomination,"
said PTC president Tim Winter. The FCC has crucial decisions ahead --
particularly on the issue of broadcast indecency complaints -- and we hope that
his experience will move the agency forward." Then came the flag: "We
remind him that the American people are fully in agreement that the FCC should
enforce the common sense broadcast indecency law, and we trust that he will
champion the interests of families in this matter." Then the fist: "If he
does not commit to enforcement of the indecency law, we will be forced to
oppose his confirmation."
Wheeler's nomination was successfully voted out of the
Senate Commerce Committee this week, but not without advice from Sen. Marco
Rubio (R-Fla.) that he wanted to hear more from Wheeler about how he would
uphold the indecency laws before his nomination earned a full committee vote.
