Posted by chicagomedia.org on May 06, 2009 at 14:09:05:
NAB's Rehr Stepping Down as President
By Kim McAvoy
TVNEWSDAY, May 6 2009, 1:45 PM ET
After a rocky three-year tenure, David Rehr is stepping down later today as president of the National Association of Broadcasters, according to sources on the NAB board.
The board has no permanent successor ready to step in, the sources say. Who will run the association until a new president is found is not clear.
NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton declined comment.
Rehr joined the NAB from the National Beer Wholesalers Association in December 2005.
During his years, the NAB has suffered a series of setbacks in Washington. The NAB failed to obtain multicast must-carry rights for TV stations; it also failed to block the XM-Sirius radio merger as well as the FCC's so-called "white spaces" initiative opening up broadcast spectrum for shared use by computer devices.
It is now fighting what appears to be an uphill battle to prevent Congress from requiring radio stations to pay royalties to record labels.
The Rehr NAB had no better luck at the FCC than it did on Capitol Hill.
On his watch, the FCC mandated DTV transition awareness PSAs, imposed a rigorous quarterly programming disclosure regime and launched a rulemaking that may result in programming quotas and stiff ascertainment requirements.
In general, the NAB is seen as a weaker lobby than it was under the leadership of Rehr's predecessor, Eddie Fritts.
TVNewsday's call to Rehr had not been returned by press time.