O'Rielly Names Fisenne Confidential Assistant

FCC Commisioner Michael O'Rielly has named Susan Fisenne as confidential assistant.

Fisenne, who had been acting confidential assistant since November, has been at the FCC since 2005—she was an assistant to former chairman Kevin Martin—including most recently as a consumer education and outreach specialist in the Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau.

“Susan’s organizational skills, knowledge of the inner-workings of the Commission, and ability to stay calm under pressure have been invaluable to me during my first months at the Commission. I am delighted that she has agreed to join my office,” said O’Rielly in a statement.

Fisenne also comes well prepared to keep commissioner confidences. She was confidential assistent to former commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate. It also runs in the family—her sister, Lori Alexiou, is confidential assistant to commissioner Ajit Pai.

Fisenne is just the latest acting staffer to lose the "acting" qualifier. O'Rielly did the same Tuesday for legal advisors Amy Bender and Erin McGrath.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.