Genachowski sails through FCC confirmation hearings

The FCC is broken, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) informed Julius Genachowski, the nominee to head the agency.

Fix this agency. Or we will fix it for you.

Really. I'm not sure Congress has ever fixed an executive agency. Legislative oversight just isn't how things get fixed. Presidential leadership in appointing a dynamic chairman is what fixes it.

This we seem to have in Genachowski. According to InfoWeek he told the senators he would push for using white spaces for Internet access and promote wireless and broadband technology as part of a stimulus push.

Rockefeller was mostly using the hearing as a way to demand a seachange from the agency's pro-business emphasis under Kevin Martin to a pro-consumer orientation.

Fix this agency, and prove to us that the FCC is not battered beyond repair. Show us the FCC can put consumers first and give them confidence that when they interact with the agency they can get a fair response.

The Wall Street Journal reports he told the senators he would not seek to revive the Fairness Doctrine, the repeal of which under the Reagan Administration led to the flowering of conservative talk radio - a key foundation of the Republican dominance over the past 25 years.