Waxman's New Role Could Be Good News/Bad News for TV Industry

House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) hails from a district that represents the heart of Los Angeles' creative community: Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Santa Monica. That could signal that the committee will be less apt to push indecency regulation and more receptive to copyright protection. Networks and media companies, however, may encounter challenges under a Waxman regime. The Democrat in the past has tried to curb drug and tobacco advertising. Marketers also could find their plans to develop targeted advertising in Chairman Waxman's sights, as consumer groups suggest he supports privacy restrictions that could affect media companies' use of customer information. For the television industry, though, the changing of the guard that brought President-elect Barack Obama to power introduces many new variables, including a Federal Communications Commission that may look askance at media mergers.