Meredith Baker’s Exit from NTIA Causes Concern

MEREDITH BAKER'S EXIT FROM NTIA CAUSES CONCERN
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Apparently National Telecommunications and Information Administration head Meredith Atwell Baker is exiting because she was not going to get the nomination to replace John Kneuer as full-time head of the agency -- a decision that had some NTIA watchers in Washington (DC) shaking their heads last week. The NTIA is playing a crucial role in the transition to digital television -- handling the $1.5 billion DTV-to-analog converter-box-coupon program. A source familiar with her decision said she expressed her desire to make sure the program was left in good hands and so would not be leaving immediately. “I don’t expect her to be gone by March 15 or anything like that,” the source added. Kneuer left abruptly just before Thanksgiving and only six weeks or so before the kickoff of the coupon program Jan. 1. Baker, who had been working on the coupon program at the NTIA for several years, was immediately named acting NTIA head and got good reviews inside the agency and on Capitol Hill for being someone they could work with. The news of Baker’s exit broke only 10 days after the NTIA began processing the coupon requests. That date was marked by an event in Washington, D.C., where, somewhat surprisingly at the time, Baker did not speak, although her boss, Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, did. Andrew J. Schwartzman, president of Media Access Project, said, "I'm very concerned. It is evident that the administration places a low priority on the DTV transition. Otherwise, it would ensure that there was consistency of leadership and adequate resources devoted to those tasks.” That concern was echoed by Federal Communications Commission member Michael Copps: “I don't see how changing NTIA leadership one more time does anything to inspire confidence or to move us toward the kind of integrated private-public partnership we need to ensure a smooth DTV transition."
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