Without a Hitch, the Revolving Door Still Spins at the FCC

A spokeswoman for the cable giant Comcast says the company only approached Federal Communications Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker, who’s just announced she’ll join the company as senior vice president of government affairs for NBC-Universal, about a potential job as a lobbyist in mid-April. Baker then alerted FCC General Counsel Austin Schlick, and recused herself from further matters concerning Comcast and it’s newest acquisition, NBC, as her job discussions continued. Baker’s previous relations with the companies, however, were already a matter of public record: In her official capacity, she had championed the companies’ causes. Here she is on C-Span in January of 2011, shortly after the merger was approved, expressing her view that the companies had gotten a raw deal, and explaining what she did behind the scenes.