The architect of the FCC’s revamped website is leaving the commission to take another government position.
That’s according to the publication The Hill, which reports that FCC Managing Director Steve VanRoekel is leaving to take a job with the U.S. Agency for International Development.
VanRoekel’s exit, expected next week, comes at a time when the FCC is receiving complaints about the new site, specifically from industry lawyers about how difficult it is to find things and file documents, when compared to the previous site.
The “reimagined” FCC.gov site is part of Chairman Julius Genachowski’s effort to make the site easier for consumers to understand and the commission’s process more transparent.
“You can’t find what you are looking for. And if you have enough time on your hands to figure out where something is, it will take you multiple clicks to get there,” an attorney told the Hill.
VanRoekel told the paper other changes are coming to make the site easier for industry people to navigate. In the meantime, the agency gives users an option to access the former site.
Radio World contributor Harry Cole was critical of the FCC’s beta site in a recent column; he said it appears to ignore the role of broadcasting.
