The Sunlight Foundation found a number of interesting names on a just-released list of the folks who had met with White House exiting chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, but one they did not highlight was one David L. Cohen and meetings on Dec. 3 and April 15.
A Comcast spokesperson confirmed Friday that it was indeed Comcast EVP David L. Cohen at the April 15 meeting witth Emanuel, where he talked about the merger and other topcs. But while Dec. 3 was the date of the Comcast/NBCU merger announcement, and the spokesperson said that Comcast Chairman Brian Roberts had been scheduled to visit the White House that day for an economic summit, the spokesperson said, the David L. Cohen listed at the Dec, 3 meeting was not the Comcast executive.
Cohen, who is the MSO's top government affairs executive, has been a friend of Emanuel's for a couple of decades, said the spokesperson. He also has experience advising mayors as a former aide to Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell.
Among the names the foundation did highlight included media exec Sam Zell of Tribune, which, of course, publishes a major paper in Chicago, where Emanuel hopes to be mayor. There was also a listing on June 9 for Keith R. Murdoch, which may or may not be Keith Rupert Murdoch of News Corp. Sunlight Foundation's Paul Blumenthal at press time had not confirmed that. A Fox executive had not returned a call for comment at press time.
