W&L Alumna May Be New FCC Commissioner

Meredith Attwell Baker

Meredith Attwell Baker, a member of Washington and Lee’s Class of 1990, is considered the odds-on choice to be named to the vacant Republican seat on the Federal Communications Commission. The Wall Street Journal reported that Meredith was the choice almost a month ago, and the actual appointment could come at any point, apparently. Meredith most recently served as acting assistant secretary for communications and information and acting administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) under President Bush. In that role, she was on the front lines of the transition to digital television and the distribution of coupons that helped individuals buy converter boxes for their old TV sets. A major feature story in TVNewsday, an industry publication, traces Meredith’s career from W&L, where she majored in journalism and Spanish, to now. The article labels her a “light-handed regulator.” Stay tuned.