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Of Lobsters And Electronics
by Randy Barrett
It must be summer because the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) held its annual confab with the press at the trendy and pricey Oceanaire Seafood Room in downtown Washington last week.
Amid the crab cakes, king crab legs, lobsters, oysters and shrimp, CEA President Gary Shapiro held court with reporters from The Washington Post, Fortune magazine, Hollywood Reporter, Technology Daily and others.
Shapiro took a few minutes to bash his current arch enemy, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), with whom he has been in rhetorical contretemps over digital television issues. "We're very optimistic about getting a hard [transition] date" for mandating digital signals, Shapiro said.
Earlier, the ever-feisty Shapiro confirmed he had been approached by the search committee looking to replace outgoing NAB President Eddie Fritts. He firmly rebuffed them. The top NAB job pays $500,000 more than CEA's corner office. "I'd rather be in the consumer electronics industry," Shapiro said, unfazed.
A dessert platter of flaming baked Alaska, cheesecake and blueberry cobbler completed the luncheon. The association presented attendees with a small, black notebook embossed with the CEA logo and a pen -- quite safely under the ubiquitous $50 gift rule.
Dust Up With Sen. Stevens' Security
Reporters eager to ask a few questions before Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens gave a speech on Monday found themselves blocked by his security detail.
According to reporters present, including National Journal's Technology Daily Special Correspondent David Hatch and Reuters' Jeremy Pelofsky, a combination of Capitol Hilton hotel security personnel and Capitol Hill police physically prevented journalists from getting within earshot of Stevens, R-Alaska, as he arrived to give a speech to the Federal Communications Bar Association. Some shoving allegedly occurred, and a few choice words were uttered.
Stevens took questions after his talk. His office had no comment on the matter and referred all inquiries to the Capitol Hill police.
The New Guy At The Copyright Center
Bill Burger has joined the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) as vice president of marketing. He will be based at the company's headquarters in Danvers, Mass.
"His breadth and experience in the publishing and information content industries will be a great asset as we continue to create new services to meet the needs of publishers and our various customer markets," CCC President Joseph Alen said in a statement.
A former journalist, Berger worked for 14 years at Newsweek magazine in New York, London and Tokyo, where he held the positions of senior writer, senior editor and European economics editor. More recently, Burger was senior vice president of new ventures for Rogers Medical Intelligence Solutions and a vice president of content for iCopyright.
In other new-guy news, the Information Technology Association of America has named Trey Hodgkins as director for defense programs. He will focus on policy issues, business development support and networking activities related to technology procurement at the Defense Department and in the armed services, the association said.
Hodgkins comes from the Association of Old Crows (AOC), which does not represent the ungainly black birds that shriek inhospitably at passersby. Instead, the AOC fronts for the electronic warfare industry. Earlier in his career, Hodgkins did tours at the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association, the American Textile Manufacturers Institute and the National Rifle Association.
Bureau Chief Named At FCC
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has appointed Donna Gregg as chief of the Media Bureau. Gregg began her career as a staff attorney at the FCC's former Cable Television Bureau. She later became vice president of regulatory affairs at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and did a stint at the Wiley Rein & Fielding law firm.
"Donna brings a wealth of experience and expertise on media issues to the commission," Martin said in a statement. "I have long been impressed by her intellect and engaging personality, and I am grateful she has agreed to continue her commitment to public service by returning to the commission."
Martin also appointed Roy Stewart to serve as senior deputy chief of the Media Bureau and Deborah Klein to serve as deputy. Stewart has been at the FCC for 40 years and most recently served as the Media Bureau's chief of the office on broadcast licensing policy. Klein was acting chief of the bureau and previously served as its chief of staff. Earlier in her career, Klein did the legal thing at the FTC's Bureau of Competition.
Brown Goes to BU
Robert Brown, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's provost, will be moving across the Charles River to become Boston University's new president. AP reports that the announcement comes 18 months after former National Aeronautics and Space Administration chief Daniel Goldin pulled out of the job a day before his start date. Goldin apparently had issues with trustees and BU Chancellor John Silber and was reportedly issued a $1.8 million severance package without ever serving as the school's president. Brown will take over for interim president Aram Chobanian on Sept. 1, and said he would spend the next few months taking "a crash course in BU." Brown praised the university as having "established itself as playing a major role in higher education."
Shiny Plaques Bestowed On Writers
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has won the 2005 Michael Kelly Award for his columns decrying genocide in Sudan. Kristoff will receive the $25,000 prize on Thursday at a dinner ceremony in Washington.
The award is bestowed annually on a journalist whose work "exemplifies the fearless pursuit and expression of truth," said Atlantic Media, which publishes National Journal's Technology Daily.
The finalists included: David Grann, a staff writer with The New Yorker; Kim Murphy, Moscow bureau chief of the Los Angeles Times; Maximillian Potter, executive editor of 5280, the Denver city magazine; and Elizabeth Rubin, a contributing writer to New York Times Magazine. Each finalist will receive $3,000.
Quote of the Week
"We believe the potential for consumer revolt is enormous if Americans wake up one day and find their TV sets don't work."
-- National Association of Broadcasters spokesman Dennis Wharton commenting on the contentious transition to digital television.
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