Obama to Name Tech Adviser as FCC Chair

Barack Obama is expected to announce Julius Genachowski as his FCC chairman, and media reform groups are enthusiastic about the choice, Ars Technica reports. Genachowski served in the FCC during the Clinton administration and in the dot-com industry before becoming Obama’s technology adviser. He helped craft the President-elect’s media plan, which one supporter said would steer the FCC “toward the public interest.”

The Technology and Innovation Plan states that “the nation's rules ensuring diversity of media ownership are critical to the public interest.” This heartens those critical of the Bush administration’s relentless push toward consolidation. “He understands the importance of open networks and a regulatory environment that promotes innovation and competition,” one watcher said of Genachowski. Industry groups have yet to weigh in on the choice. (More Barack Obama stories.)