Baker: Likely A Light-Handed Regulator

Meredith Attwell Baker, in a speech in Washington last fall, made clear her belief in minimal regulation of broadcasting.

Given the "robust and diverse media marketplace, government would do best to tread lightly," the then-head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration told a Media Institute audience.

She endorsed the FCC's relaxation of the newspaper/crossownership rule, calling it long overdue, and she said it would be a mistake to resurrect the fairness doctrine. "A return of this doctrine would be like a U-turn on the road of progress."

She also criticized an FCC proposal to mandate local broadcast programming.

"[I]t seems antithetical to impose a new set of requirements on broadcasters for purposes of improving their responsiveness to the local communities they serve," she said.

"Lest we forget, the presence of television and radio broadcast stations in their local communities and their production of local-oriented programming are among the most salient features that differentiate broadcasters from their competitors."

At the time, the speech meant little. Baker was never a player in the policy debates on Capitol Hill or at the FCC. And, besides, by the time the speech was delivered on Nov. 20, she was a lame duck, on her way out along with every other Bush appointee.

But the speech has now taken on new significance as Baker has emerged as the leading candidate to fill the vacant Republican seat on the FCC.

It gives comfort to broadcasters who fear the new Democratic FCC majority will freeze ownership restrictions in place and move ahead with the localism rules and other burdensome new regulations.

"It's fair to say she's very open to hearing about how markets are working," says Ken Ferree, a one-time FCC official who is now president of the Progress & Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank.

Baker declined to be interviewed for this story.

If nominated and confirmed, the 41-year-old Baker would ally with the like-minded fellow Republican commissioner, Robert McDowell, who had an easy time yesterday before the Senate Commerce Committee, which is considering confirming him for a second term.

Together, they will provide counterpoint to three Democratic commissioners, who will be, if all goes as planned, Chairman Julius Genachowski, Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn.

Genachowski also appeared yesterday before the Senate Commerce Committee and is now on a fast track to confirmation. Copps is the incumbent who has been acting chairman since Republican Kevin Martin resigned prior to Obama's inauguration. Clyburn, the daughter of House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, is still awaiting her confirmation hearing.

Although there may be clashes of policy between Baker and the Democrats who are far less reluctant to shape the media through regulation, there should be few clashes of personality.

Baker brings a reputation for congeniality and collegiality. "She will participate in the debate and discussion and be part of the team at the FCC," says Brian Fontes, the CEO of the National Emergency Number Association, who knows Baker from their days together at CTIA and who knows the FCC as a one-time aide to former FCC Commissioner James Quello.

"She certainly does not agree with most of our policy positions," says Andrew Schwartzman of the Media Access Project. Nonetheless, he adds, she is "somebody who's easy to talk to and deal with. I place a much higher priority on that."

Most Washington insiders think Baker's appointment is close to certain.

The Senate Commerce Committee's top Republican, Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, handpicked Baker to fill the FCC slot and Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) is now believed to be backing her.

Baker also has the kind of connections that mean something in Washington. She hails from Houston and is the daughter-in-law of the Republican uber-politico James A. Baker III who, among other things, has served as White House chief of staff, Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of State during the Reagan and Bush I years.

Meredith's husband is James A. Baker IV (Jamie), the managing partner of the Washington office of Baker Botts. His primary focus is on international trade. They were married three years ago in Ravello, Italy, and Baker is now helping to raise James' four daughters by a pervious marriage.

Meredith Baker is also Texas royalty. Her great-great grandfather was Isaac Van Zandt, who was ambassador to the United States when Texas was an independent country in the 1840s and who helped engineer the annexation of Texas by the U.S.

Her father, Kirby Attwell, a well-known Houston businessman, was at one time the president of Lincoln Liberty Life Insurance working for the late former Texas Democratic Senator Lloyd Bentsen.

The Attwells have been long-time friends of Baker and the Bush families

Baker has been in and out of government since she first went to Washington in 1990 following her graduation from Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Va., a school known for its strict honor code and southern charm.