Marc Osgoode Smith, editor in chief of CableFAX Daily, is expected to
take a job at the National Cable Television Association soon in a move designed
to raise the industry's profile as a provider of video programming, high-speed
data and voice-telephony services.
Smith, 33, will become senior director of communications, working closely
with communications vice president David Beckwith. He will also serve as a
member of the NCTA's senior staff, according to informed sources.
'We are pleased. Marc brings knowledge, enthusiasm and a long-term
perspective on the industry's public-relations challenges,' Beckwith said.
Smith has been the chief editorial voice of CableFAX since 1996,
except for a 1997 stint as Washington bureau chief of Cablevision
magazine, a sister publication to Multichannel News.
CableFAX Daily is a sassy newsletter widely read by cable-industry
insiders.
Smith has used the newsletter to hector cable-industry critics, to scold
federal regulations aimed at the industry and to toss darts at MSO chieftains
who failed to keep their egos in check.
Beckwith said he expects Smith to easily adjust to the NCTA's culture.
'I think Marc has been able to adapt to what he has needed to do to make
himself and his organization a success. That includes CableFAX, and I am
sure it will include the NCTA,' Beckwith said.
Smith, a Washington, D.C., resident, is a 1993 graduate of the College of
Wooster in Ohio.
Beckwith said the NCTA plans to announce Smith's appointment next
week.
