President Bush Names Kevin Martin To Head FCC

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 16, 2005 - 3:06am.

Washington -- The White House announced on Wednesday that 38-year-old Kevin Martin has been named to lead the Federal Communications Commission, which has decided a number of groundbreaking telecommunications issues in recent years. Martin, who will replace Michael Powell, has served as an FCC Commissioner since 2001. Prior to his appointment to the FCC, he worked at the White House and served as a deputy general counsel on Bush's first campaign. Martin and Powell -- both Republicans -- were on different sides on a 2003 decision over how to promote competition among Baby Bell companies and their competitors. Some consumer groups and media watchdogs were critical of Martin's nomination. "Religious and conservative groups campaigned for the elevation of Mr. Martin [and] have succeeded in establishing a new 'litmus' test for the FCC chair -- someone who will be at the forefront of monitoring programming," Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, told the Los Angeles Times.
http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/martin
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-031605fcc_lat,0,7389264.story
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-03-16-martin-fcc_x.htm
http://tinyurl.com/472c2