Category: Revolving Door

Google Hires former Bush and Hill Official to Lobby for its Merger

As part of its lobbying effort to secure FTC approval of its dramatic expansion, Google has hired a former Deputy Assistant Attorney-General for the Antitrust Division. Makan Delrahim, who served at the DoJ from 2003-2005, helped oversee the DoJ’s work work with international antitrust agencies. Among his duties was to chair “the Merger Working Group of the International Competition Network, the recently created virtual network of antitrust enforcers to develop better global coordination and cooperation of competition law enforcement.” Mr. Delrahim’s also worked as Chief Counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee under Sen. Orin Hatch. One assumes Google wants to use Mr. Delrahim’s contacts at the FTC and at the European Commission to head-off what should be serious opposition to its take-over of Doubleclick. According to press reports, the new lobbyist has, of course, no qualms about the deal. Bloomberg reports Mr. Delrahim said that “[U]ltimately this is a very robust, dynamic industry. The combination of the two companies will only help create a more efficient system for the online advertising world.” Mr. Delrahim is now in private practice at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.


We have reached a crucial transition period for digital communications and commerce in what should be a global democratic era. It’s too convenient a rationalization to claim that because your mission is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful” you can ignore concerns about user data protection, consumer autonomy, competition, and related civil society issues.

Revolving Door Watch on Michael K. Powell: Consolidating the Media for a Living

Is it ironic, tragic, or absurd that Mr. “Deregulator” (meaning end all rules because the market knows best) Michael K. Powell is working for the firm which just scooped up 56 Clear Channel TV stations for $1.2 billion? The former FCC chairman aggressively pushed to end rules that placed limits on the ownership of multiple broadcast television outlets by a single company. Guess what Powell’s Providence Equity Partners got in the Clear Channel deal, according to Media Daily News: “The portfolio houses a series of duopolies and triopolies, including two stations in top-50 markets, such as Cincinnati, Salt Lake City and Jacksonville. Twenty-seven stations are affiliated with the Big 4 networks.”

No FCC official should be permitted to work in any media industry related commercial venture for at least ten years after their term. That air blown-in by the FCC’s golden revolving door stinks.

PS: We should have acknowledged that Mr. Powell—who eliminated broadband network neutrality rules while at the FCC—has also just joined the board of directors for Cisco. Cisco has also been opposed to network neutrality, since it makes the equipment designed to give phone and cable companies control over broadband content flow.

FCC Revolving Door for Well-Connected Media Biz “Super Lawyers”

Last Sunday,included with the New York Times, was the special ad supplement “Washington DC Super Lawyers 2007.” Listed were the “Top Attorneys in the Washington, D.C., metro area.” An ad supported homage to some of the key power brokers, the supplement included a listing of communications attorneys.

Not surprisingly, among the “top ten” of all the Capital’s Super Lawyers stood Richard E. Wiley of Wiley Rein. The former chair of the FCC (1974-77), his firm has represented practically every media and telecom company, including the NAB, Time Warner, Clear Channel, CBS and Verizon.

Here’s the “Communications” Super Lawyers, and, in many cases, their former roles in Congress or the FCC.

Kathleen Q. Abernathy, Akin Gump. Former FCC Commissioner, 2001-2005
Jonathan. D. Blake, Covington & Burling
Richard J. Bodorff, Wiley Rein. Former counsel at FCC (1974-77)
James L. Casserly, Wilkie Farr & Gallagher. Former senior legal advisor to a Commissioner (1994-99)
Gary M. Epstein, Latham & Watkins. Former FCC official, inc. chief of Common Carrier Bureau (1981-1983)
Charles D. Ferris. Partner, Mintz Levin et al. Former chair of FCC (1977-1981)
Patrick J. Grant. Arnold & Porter
Scott Blake Harris. Harris Wiltshire & Grannis. Former chief of FCC International Bureau (1994-96)
Frank R. Jazzo. Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth
Regina M. Keeney. Lawler Metzger Milkman & Keeney. Former chief of several FCC bureaus and senior counsel for communications at U.S. Senate Commerce Committee
William T. Lake. Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr. Former U.S. State Department official
Andrew D. Lippman. Bingham McCutchen.
Francisco Montero. Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth. Former FCC official
John T. Nakahata. Harris Wiltshire & Grannis. Former chief of staff to FCC chair and Congressional aide
Lewis J. Paper. Dickstein Shapiro. Former FCC chief General Counsel
Henry M. Rivera. Wiley, Rein. Former FCC Commissioner (1981-1985)
Norman M. Sinel. Arnold & Porter.
Cheryl A. Tritt. Morrison & Foerster. Former chief of FCC Common Carrier bureau
Philip L. Verveer. Wilkie Farr & Gallagher. Former FCC, FTC, DOJ official.

Backing Further U.S. Media Consolidation: State Pension Funds, Foundations and Universities Help Providence Equity Partners New $12b Shopping Spree

Compounding problems with media consolidation is the role that private equity firms are playing buying major media, telecom and advertising properties. We are not only ending up with fewer owners of key newspapers, stations, networks, channels, and digital portals—but these private firms are even more unaccountable to the public. That’s why its disturbing to learn that what has been described as one of the largest funds to buy up media properties—the new Providence Equity Partners VI fund–is financially backed in part by groups which should know better. Investors of the new media merger fund include state pension funds, university endowments and private foundations (in addition to contributions from other pension funds, “high-net-worth” individuals and “funds of funds”). These investors are partnering with Providence’s plan to see more media properties are swallowed up. But likely missing from such buy-outs is any commitment to the public interest, let alone serious support for journalism. Ironically, foundations, unions, and a few university leaders have been part of the “media reform” effort combating further consolidation of “old media” and also working to restore “network neutrality” for U.S. broadband.

Former FCC Chair Michael K. Powell is a senior advisor at Providence, another irony (especially if any of the pension or foundation investment comes from groups backing the public interest media effort). Providence, as we’ve noted previously, has sought to acquire Clear Channel and Tribune. Its new fund will enable it to acquire more cable and other holdings, likely making it a fierce opponent of the effort to ensure broadband cable and phone networks are required to operate in a non-discriminatory manner.

We hope that there will be some serious soul-searching in the foundation, union, and pension investment community. More is at stake than a good return on a dollar. It’s the future of free expression, democratic participation, and civil rights.