Barely four months after the Federal Communications Commission contentiously allowed for the Comcast/NBC Universal media merger, making Comcast the worlds largest cable, broadcast, motion picture, and yes theme park conglomerate, a former FCC official joins their ranks.
Merideth Attwell Baker, the former FCC official, announced May 18th that she is leaving the FCC when her term expires in June. Baker's new title: Senior vice president for government affairs for NBC Universal. ...Really?
Baker, one of two Republicans on the five-member commission, recently criticized the speed of the commission’s review of the Comcast-NBC merger, which took 355 days. The F.C.C. voted 4-1 in January for approval, subject to several conditions. "[It] took too long, in my view," she said. I bet it did.
Among criticizers is The Daily Show's John Stewart (scroll to 1:30):
Other criticizers accuse the deal of allowing Comcast an unfair monopoly in many sectors, making way for unfair pricing and preventing relevant competition.
Another blatant example of a so-called public servant taking advantage of their position to cash in at a company they are supposed to be regulating. This is another all-too-common example of the disease of cronyism that exists within the U.S. government.
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