Reid Becomes Rockefeller's New Chief of Staff

Kerry Ates, chief of staff to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), will exit that post in December to become VP and chief of staff at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.


James Reid, deputy staff director to Rockefeller, will succeed Ates in the post.

"As a natural leader, I know James will continue his exceptional service to West Virginia and the U.S. Senate in this new leadership role," Rockefeller said. "This Senator, my entire office, and the entire U.S. Senate community will sorely miss [Ates's] incalculable contribution."

As chairman of the Commerce Committee, Rockefeller sets the agenda for the committee's oversight of communications policy issues and the FCC.

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.