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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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October
15, 2008
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Dennis
Wharton
202-429-5350
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ACTIONS
OF THE NAB BOARD OF DIRECTORS
WASHINGTON,
DC -- The National Association of Broadcasters Board of Directors met
in Washington this week. Below is a summary of their actions.
JOINT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
October 14-15, 2008
CALL
TO ORDER
NAB
Joint Board Chairman Jack Sander, Senior Advisor to Belo Corp., called
the meeting to order. After a call of the roll, the minutes of the June
Board meeting were approved.
CHAIRMAN'S
REPORT
Mr.
Sander briefed the Joint Board on the many issues facing the broadcasting
business. Mr. Sander also introduced Janet McGregor, incoming chief
operations and financial officer for NAB.
PRESIDENT'S
REPORT
NAB
President and CEO David K. Rehr highlighted the many issues on Capitol
Hill and at the FCC facing the broadcasting industry, and he outlined
NAB's short- and long-term goals and objectives.
ISSUES
UPDATE
NAB Executive Vice President of Government Relations Laurie Knight and
NAB Senior Vice President of Legal & Regulatory Affairs Jane Mago
briefed the board on issues related to the FCC's proposed localism ruling.
Ms. Knight
briefed the board on issues surrounding the recording industry-backed
effort to impose a performance tax on local broadcasters for radio airplay
of music.
Jonathan
Collegio, vice president of NAB's digital TV transition team, updated
the board on NAB's educational campaign to inform all Americans of the
transition to digital TV.
NABPAC
UPDATE
Anne
Brady, vice president of NAB's Political Action Committee updated the
Board on NAB's fundraising efforts and encouraged members to contribute.
CELLULAR
INDUSTRY IMPACT ON BROADCASTING
NAB Senior Vice President of Science and Technology Lynn Claudy introduced
David Epstein, managing partner of Epstein and Associates. Mr. Epstein
updated the board on the opportunities and challenges that broadcasters
may confront through advanced services on new technological platforms.
NABEF
NAB Education Foundation President Marcellus Alexander updated the
Board on the recent activities and initiatives undertaken by the Foundation.
Specifically, Mr. Alexander briefed the Board on an NABEF initiative
to increase political awareness and participation among U.S. students.
FINANCIAL
REPORT
Mr. Sander and Mr. Rehr provided a financial update to the Board.
RADIO
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
October 14, 2008
CALL
TO ORDER
NAB Radio Board Chairman Steve Newberry, president and CEO of Commonwealth
Broadcasting, called the meeting to order. After roll call the minutes
of the June Board meeting were approved.
NAB
RADIO SHOW
NAB Executive Vice President of Radio John David provided highlights
from the recent NAB Radio Show in Austin.
FCC
UPDATE
NAB Senior Vice President of Legal & Regulatory Affairs Jane Mago
updated the Radio Board on the status of the FCC proposal to allow AM
stations the ability to use FM translators as a means to enhance their
signals' reach.
Ms. Mago
provided an update on NAB's effort to protect FM radio broadcasters
from interference that would result from removal of third-adjacent channel
protections.
Ms. Mago
also briefed the Radio Board on issues related to a recent FCC proposal
to mandate new localism requirements that would dictate how broadcasters
serve their local communities.
NAB Senior
Vice President of Science and Technology Lynn Claudy briefed the Radio
Board on the status of a request to the FCC that would allow FM radio
stations broadcasting in HD to increase their power level.
CAPITOL
HILL ISSUES
NAB Executive Vice President of Government Relations Laurie Knight updated
the Radio Board on recent legislation that would allow radio stations
to bypass onerous streaming rates set by the Copyright Royalty Board
and instead negotiate new streaming rates directly with SoundExchange.
The legislation establishes February 15 as the deadline for a negotiated
settlement.
Ms. Knight
briefed the Radio Board on NAB's efforts related to the performance
tax, noting that a majority of House lawmakers are on record in opposition
to the RIAA-backed effort.
Ms. Knight
updated the Radio Board on legislation introduced by House Telecommunications
Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) that would boost the implementation
of HD Radio chipsets in newly manufactured radio receivers.
RADIO
MEMBERSHIP
Mr. David briefed the Board on membership issues.
RADIO DATA SYSTEM ON RECEIVERS
Mr. Claudy briefed the Radio Board on current trends and practices of
radio stations that are enhancing their service with a radio data system.
TELEVISION
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OCTOBER 15, 2008
CALL
TO ORDER
Television Board Chairman James Yager, CEO, Barrington Broadcasting,
called the Television Board to order. After a call of the roll, minutes
of the June Board meeting were approved.
DTV
TRANSITION STATUS
Jonathan Collegio, vice president of NAB's DTV transition team, updated
the Board on NAB's campaign to educate Americans on the pending transition
to digital TV. Specifically, Mr. Collegio highlighted NAB's efforts
related to Wilmington's early analog cut-off and discussed challenges
related to Hawaii's early DTV switch.
NAB Executive
Vice President of Government Relations Laurie Knight briefed the board
on legislation offered by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Rep. Lois
Capps (D-CA) that would require the FCC to implement a plan for short-term
extension of analog TV broadcasting to continue educating the public
on the DTV transition.
The Television
Board adopted
a resolution supporting the legislation and instructed NAB staff
to work with the FCC to implement details related to the educational
effort.
Seth Geiger
of the polling firm Smith/Geiger briefed the Television Board on data
related to growing public awareness of NAB's DTV educational campaign.
Lynn Claudy,
senior vice president, NAB Science and Technology, briefed the Board
on the joint NAB/MSTV DTV converter box evaluation program.
WHITE
SPACES DISCUSSION
Mr. Claudy and TV Board member Liz Burns, president of Morgan-Murphy
Stations, briefed the Board on NAB/MSTV action steps related to the
"white spaces" debate.
The Television
Board adopted a resolution in support of MSTV's geolocation-based alternative
to spectrum-sensing unlicensed devices.
TELEVISION
MEMBERSHIP AND ACTIVITIES
NAB Executive Vice President of Television Marcellus Alexander updated
the Board on NAB TV membership and discussed upcoming Television events
and activities.
DTV
QUIET PERIOD
The NAB Television Board discussed the status of the broadcast industry's
voluntary and pro-consumer initiative to ensure cable subscribers have
continued access to broadcast TV signals in the weeks leading up to
and following the DTV transition.
RETRANSMISSION
CONSENT
NAB Television Board Member Alan Frank, president, Post-Newsweek Stations
led a discussion on the cable industry's recent efforts in Washington
to alter the private market-based negotiations between cable operators
and broadcasters on the carriage terms of broadcast programming.
FCC
UPDATE
NAB Executive Vice President of Legal and Regulatory Affairs Marsha
MacBride and NAB Senior Vice President of Legal and Regulatory Affairs
Jane Mago updated the Television Board on various FCC-related issues
including low-power TV must-carry and the FCC's proposed localism mandates,
which would dictate how broadcasters serve their local communities.
SATELLITE
HOME VIEWER EXTENSION AND REAUTHORIZATION ACT
Ms. MacBride and NAB Executive Vice President of Government Relations
Laurie Knight briefed the Board on legislation related to the upcoming
required renewal of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization
Act (SHVERA).
CAPITOL
HILL ISSUES
Ms. Knight also updated the Board on legislation expected to be approved
by Congress instructing the FCC to complete a study on advanced TV program
blocking technology.
OPEN
MOBILE VIDEO COALITION
Anne Schelle, executive director of Open Mobile Video Coalition, updated
the board on continued efforts by OMVC to launch mobile DTV services.
About
NAB
The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association
for America's broadcasters. As the voice of more than 8,300 radio and
television stations, NAB advances their interests in legislative, regulatory
and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables
broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses
and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.
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