Official FCC reform Web site coming

Julius Genachowski took over the Federal Communications Commission at a time when many lawmakers, advocacy groups and employees of the agency were convinced that it was in dire need of repair.

Genachowski today reiterated his commitment to reform the organization, writing in a letter to Chairman Robert McDowell that overhauling the agency is “a matter of great urgency.”

This week, he said a new Web site, Reboot.FCC.gov, will go live, calling for input on how, exactly, the agency should clean up its act. Initially, the site will only be available internally, soliciting feedback from employees, but Genachowski said it will eventually be open to the public so any interested party can offer suggestions.

This follows a long list of government Web sites introduced by members of the Obama administration, which has made the notions of openness, transparency and government accountability key pillars of many of its policy announcements, ranging from tracking stimulus funds to cybersecurity.

In the case of the FCC, the expert agency with regulatory authority over the nation’s communications sector, critics have seized on its consumer-facing Web site as a symbol of how far out of step it has fallen with the industry it oversees.