Thursday, February 9, 2012

Shapiro's "What If" Zinger

January 8, 2007

Kudos to Consumer Electronics Association chief Gary Shapiro for asking an A-list panel of executives what might have been one of the most intriguing questions of the day: "If you could change one law currently on the books, what would it be?"

CES
(Photo Credit: Andrew Noyes)

Some answered more candidly than others:

Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt said "we've been consistently in favor of less regulation" and having a level playing field across areas in which he does business. Charlie Ergen, CEO of EchoStar Communications, said he would reverse the FCC's 2002 decision to block his company from merging with competitor DirecTV.

Cox Communications President Patrick Esser said his answer depends on what regulators are focusing on at any given time. "Today, it's retransmission consent because David's sitting here," he joked. He was referring to David Barrett, president of Hearst-Argyle Television, and the current law that allows broadcasters to seek compensation for the consent to retransmit signals on cable television.

Verizon's Virginia Ruesterholz tossed out "voice regulation" as her pet peeve. "We have a lot of competition and we'd be looking for less regulation on that. More regulation is just the opposite of what's happening in industry."

Read more about the session in Tuesday's Technology Daily P.M. Edition.

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Juliana Gruenwald has been covering tech and telecom issues for more than a decade for National Journal, Interactive Week, BNA and Congressional Quarterly. This is her second stint with National Journal. She was recruited by NJ in 1998 to help launch its first tech policy publication, Technology Daily. She left in 2000 to cover international tech and telecom issues for Ziff Davis Media's Interactive Week magazine. She started her career at United Press International as the wire service's first Helen Thomas Intern. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. A Minneapolis native, she misses the lakes but not the cold.


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Josh Smith covers technology policy as a staff reporter for National Journal. He previously interned at National Journal Daily, a Senate press office, and the Deseret News in Salt Lake City where he covered the state legislature, courts, and crime. In 2009 he graduated with honors from Southern Utah University after managing an award-winning student newspaper as editor-in-chief. Josh has received state, regional and national awards for his political and policy reporting, including first place in CapitolBeat’s 2009 Best of Statehouse Reporting college competition. A native of drop-dead-gorgeous Utah, Josh lives in Virginia with his wife, Amber.