Spectrum giveback concerns NAB president

National Association of Broadcasters President Gordon Smith (right) said the FCC’s call for a spectrum giveback is sort of like that scene in “The Godfather” — an offer broadcasters can’t refuse. In an interview with Broadcasting & Cable, Smith also had harsh words about FCC Chair Reed Hundt’s recent revelations that the agency decided in 1994 to push broadband over broadcast. “Frankly, I was rather offended, as a former member of the Senate Commerce Committee, that his secret musings were never shared with the elected representatives of the American people as it relates to such a profound policy change,” Smith said. “I think it was alarming and deeply disappointing, and every member of Congress should be offended by it.”