Shake Hands, Come Out Lobbying

"I learned at a young age: You tell it like you see it," says David K. Rehr, chief lobbyist for the National Association of Broadcasters, who has earned a reputation for in-your-face advocacy for his clients. (By Chris Kleponis)

The floridly polite tone of a recent congressional hearing -- "gentlelady" this and "honorable colleague" that -- vanished the instant the microphone was turned over to David K. Rehr, president of the National Association of Broadcasters.

He was there to oppose the proposed merger of the nation's two satellite radio companies, and he employed two techniques: slash, and burn. Nodding toward his seatmate who heads one of the companies, Rehr told lawmakers: "Two entities that have a pattern and practice of violating their FCC licenses cannot be trusted with monopoly power. . . . People who want to attain a government-sanctioned monopoly, with all due respect, will about say and do anything to grab it."

Take that, satellite radio.

The House Judiciary Committee antitrust task force's members and audience should not have been surprised. Rehr, 47, has been the broadcasters' chief lobbyist for little more than a year, but he has an established reputation for in-your-face advocacy.

As the National Beer Wholesalers' top lobbyist for six years, Rehr hurled barbs and thinly veiled threats at virtually any critic, including doctors. When the American Medical Association urged a ban on beer ads on collegiate sports programs, Rehr sent a letter pointedly noting that a study had found that the nation's physicians cause 120,000 accidental deaths a year. "It seems that there might be more pressing issues before your association than beer advertising," he told the AMA, which eventually dropped the campaign.

Rehr now is the point man for an unofficial, loosely knit coalition urging the Federal Communications Commission and Justice Department to prevent subscriber-only XM and Sirius from merging. Several consumer groups are also involved, arguing that a monopolistic satellite radio company would raise prices and possibly reduce service.

Rehr, representing thousands of radio and TV stations, says XM and Sirius are already competing with over-the-air radio stations for listeners and advertising, especially in areas (including Washington) where the two companies have local traffic and weather channels. A merged satellite company would be an even bigger threat, he says, and he makes no apologies for his pugilistic style.

"I'm Midwestern," Rehr said in an interview. "I learned at a young age: You tell it like you see it."

"It's not intended to be personal," he said of his comments regarding Mel Karmazin, the Sirius chief executive who spoke to the antitrust task force moments after Rehr did. "I introduced myself to Mel. . . . I think of myself as a pleasant but tough-minded person."

Rehr's response to critics is usually blunt and simple. "There's something hard about freedom," he said at a National Press Club appearance last fall when asked why TV stations air ads for "Girls Gone Wild" videos and dubious weight-loss products. "People can always choose to switch the channel or to turn down the volume."

Rehr proudly notes that he's an economist, not a lawyer. He received a doctorate in economics from George Mason University after graduating from St. John's University in Minnesota. A Republican fundraiser, he got his start on Capitol Hill working for then-Rep. Vin Weber (R-Minn.) and the House Small Business Committee. Now he makes $620,000 a year at the NAB, with the possibility of a $100,000 bonus, according to IRS filings.

Rehr said "all the tools the NAB has at its disposal" will be used to fight the XM-Sirius merger. His best weapons, he said, are the executives and workers from the nation's 7,000 radio stations, some of whom have already walked the Capitol's halls wearing anti-merger badges.

Sometimes Rehr's combative impulses threaten to undermine his assertion that satellite radio is a big threat. "We hear so much" about the two companies stirring consumer and investor excitement, he said at the Press Club event. But while XM and Sirius claim about 12 million subscribers, he said, "260 million people listened to local radio last week -- and that's week in and week out."

Take that, satellite radio.