A three month search for the next leader of the National Association of Broadcasters leads the industry to former Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR), whose middle-of-the-road persuasion may smooth what’s become a rocky regulatory road for broadcasters.  “He’s one of the last of the moderates in Washington,” says one lobbyist.

Smith served on the Senate Commerce Committee and is well-acquainted with radio issues.  He’s also run his family’s frozen food business.  Since losing his bid for re-election last fall, Smith has been an attorney at Covington & Burling in Washington, DC.  NAB Joint Board chairman Steve Newberry says the blend of lawyer, statesman and entrepreneur made Smith the ideal pick.  “We were looking for a leader to become the public face of broadcasting and help us develop a strategy for the industry’s future,” says Newberry.

Smith replaces David Rehr, who resigned in May.  Smith says, “As radio and television stations embrace new technologies and new business opportunities, I look forward to articulating to public policymakers the unique and positive role played by local and network broadcasters in the fabric of American society.”

As Inside Radio reported in July, the potential political lineage of the NAB’s pick also included some sitting members of Congress interested in the job.  The search firm identified about 100 candidates and slowly whittled the list down to 20 names, ten of which were interviewed.  The list was cut to five, then three.  Last Thursday the committee made its selection.  Smith received the news while attending The Pendleton Round-Up, a weeklong rodeo in his central Oregon hometown.  What was expected to be days of back-and-forth negotiation was instead wrapped-up in hours.  Smith, 57, calls it “an opportunity of a lifetime.”  That clears the way for the NAB’s new head to attend this week’s NAB Radio Show in Philadelphia.  He’ll officially start his new role November 1.