FCC's Steve Waldman: Point man for fixing the news business

Imagine being asked to solve a problem so difficult that the smartest people you know have been trying to figure it out for months, even years, without getting anywhere. Now imagine doing it with one metaphorical hand tied behind your back.

That gives you an idea of the challenge Steven Waldman faces in his new job as the Federal Communications Commission's designated deep thinker on the future of media. As a special adviser to Chairman Julius Genachowski, Waldman will be asked to assess the health of the news business and come up with recommendations for improving it -- without exceeding the agency's relatively narrow charter.