Guessing game begins for next top media regulator

By Brooks Boliek

WASHINGTON (Hollywood Reporter) - The spoils system might not be what it was when Sen. William Marcy inadvertently gave it its name in his 1832 "To the victor go the spoils" speech, but patronage still is an important power for the president as he or she places men and women in positions across the capital from the Pentagon to the FCC's offices in the Portals.

While commission appointments might not be the plum posts for presidential job-seekers, the person selected has a wide latitude in setting the telecommunications agenda for what is one of the most important government positions in the "knowledge economy." Even as there are still three candidates vying to be leader of the free world, it's not too early to begin speculation who would be chairman of the FCC.

If Sen. Hillary Clinton takes the prize, Susan Ness is the name bandied about among the tele-cognesceti. Ness, a former commissioner, has strong ties to the Clintons. She was a fundraiser and former campaign worker for President Clinton and has continued in that role actively campaigning for the senator. She has been named a "Hill Raiser" for raising more than $100,000 for Clinton and has been active in her campaign.

Ness had a shot at taking over the commission when former chairman Reed Hundt left in 1997, but she was passed over when former FCC general counsel Bill Kennard was tapped as the first black chairman of the panel.

Aside from being close to the Clintons, Ness makes an attractive candidate for the commission's top job as it would allow the first female president to select the first female FCC chairman. Ness was considered a reliable vote for Hundt at first, but she chafed under the domineering chairman's rule.

"It's funny on the Democratic side, you hear all these names being thrown around for Obama, but there's really only Ness for Clinton," said one industry source.

While the who-will-be-chairman game is relatively easy under a Hillary-wins scenario, it gets more complicated if her Democratic rival takes the nomination and the White House.

If Sen. Barack Obama wins, his campaign and Senate staffs are dotted with people who have close ties to the FCC. Connecting those dots, however, is Julius Genachowski, a former aide to Hundt and Kennard and a close friend of Obama's since they attended Harvard Law School. He is a major fundraiser for the senator and introduced him to Hundt, Kennard and their followers.

Aside from commission experience, Genachowski was an executive at Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp. and a managing director at digital media specialist Rock Creek Ventures and is a special adviser to the private-equity group General Atlantic.

"He got a lot of people interested in him early on," said Blair Levin, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus who was a top adviser to Hundt. "There are a lot of people there that would be terrific choices, just as there are in the other campaigns."

Levin has also been mentioned as a possibility, but he dodged the question when asked if he wanted the job.

It's unclear whether Genachowski wants the job either as some think he could end up in the White House itself.

Other names associated with Obama include his policy director Karen Kornbluh, who also worked at the commission under Hundt and Kennard, and Don Gipps, an FCC veteran who was former Vice President Al Gore's domestic policy adviser and is now a top executive at Level 3, an Internet "backbone" operator.

Larry Stcikling, a former chief of the FCC Common Carrier Bureau and an Obama campaign worker, also has been mentioned for the post.

The two Democrats on the FCC -- Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein -- also can't be ruled out. Copps has been on the commission the longest and has the highest profile as he has been an outspoken opponent of media consolidation and is well liked by Capitol Hill Democrats. Adelstein also has ties to Obama: His former boss former, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, is an Obama backer.