The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association representing the interests of for-profit over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The NAB represents more than 8,300 terrestrial radio and television stations as well as broadcast networks.

Founding

The NAB was founded in 1922 (the same year the BBC was founded) at the Drake Hotel in Chicago. The NAB's founder and first president was Eugene F. McDonald Jr., who also launched the Zenith corporation.

Commercial Radio

The NAB fought to establish a commercial radio system in the United States. The commercial system was set up in August 1928 with the establishment of General Order 40 -- a radio reallocation scheme by the Federal Radio Commission which awarded the choicest frequencies and broadcast times to the then-emerging commercial radio industry. In the wake of General Order 40, there coalesced a loose coalition of educators, nonprofit broadcasters, labor unions, and religious groups which fought the NAB and their allies in the 1920s and 1930s to establish a public nonprofit license-funded radio system without commercials (similar to what happened in Britain with the BBC). This coalition -- without the connections, resources, or publicity of the NAB and the commercial radio industry -- lost the fight, which was effectively sealed in law with the passage of the Communications Act of 1934.^[1]

Political Influence

The NAB has been criticized for attempting to muzzle reform efforts in Congress which might affect the profitability of commercial broadcasters, or change the commercial orientation of most U.S. radio and TV broadcasting. One example involves Gloria Tristani, a former Federal Communication Commission (FCC) commissioner who supported the creation of thousands of low-power FM radio stations for local communities, but who in 2002 was also running for Senate in New Mexico. The NAB opposed, and still opposes, low-power FM, since it would present a viable widespread low-cost noncommercial alternative to commercial radio. The NAB threatened Tristani twice with denial of airtime, and gave money to her opponent. Tristani lost the race for Senate.^[2]

The NAB has also been critized as a classic example of the "revolving door" phenomenon in government -- where former government officials join the very industry they regulate. One recent example of legions of examples is that of Marsha MacBride, the chief of staff of former FCC chair Michael Powell, who joined the NAB as its head of legal and regulatory affairs^[3]. The NAB was the leading sponsor of free trips given to FCC officials, paying more than $191,000 to bring more than 200 FCC officials to NAB events.^[4]

Notable presentations to the NAB

It was at a presentation before the NAB on May 9, 1961 that then-FCC Chair Newton Minow gave his famous Wasteland Speech, where Minow decried broadcast television as a "vast wasteland". The speech was one of the most influential in the 20th century, and Minow's "vast wasteland" quote made him the only FCC commissioner to be quoted in Bartlett's Quotations.

Actor Tim Robbins gave the keynote speech at the 2008 NAB's annual show, where he decried a media "abyss" -- "We are at an abyss as an industry and as a country"^[5].

The NAB and Low-Power FM Radio

Along with National Public Radio, the National Association of Broadcasters supported the Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act of 2000, which restricted the FCC's establishment of a low power FM radio (LPFM) service designed to permit community radio stations which could provide local news and public affairs broadcasting from within neighborhoods and small towns^[6]. They were concerned that an LPFM station could be placed too close to an existing station, causing "oceans of interference". Congress passed the Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act and, as part of the legislation, ordered the FCC to conduct a study as to whether or not low power FM radio stations would interfere with full power broadcasts. That study, conducted by independent contractors at the MITRE corporation, was completed in 2003 and found “no significant interference” issues and recommended Congress return the LPFM service to its original scope^[7][8].

The NAB and Satellite Radio

Many satellite radio enthusiasts have criticized the NAB for lobbying against legislation approvals for those services. The NAB protested the FCC's approval of both satellite radio services in the United States, XM and Sirius, and furthermore criticized the 2008 merger between the two companies.^[9]

Similar organizations

Similar organizations of more local scale to the NAB exist in individual U.S. states, including GAB, the Georgia Association of Broadcasters in Georgia, and the IBA, the Illinois Broadcasters Association, in Illinois. Its counterpart in Canada is CAB, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters.

NAB awards

The NAB presents several annual awards:

• NAB Marconi Radio Awards, to the country's top radio stations and personalities
• NAB National Radio Award, to an outstanding individual leader in the radio industry
• NAB Crystal Radio Awards, to radio stations achieving excellence in community service
• NAB Hall of Fame^[10], awarded yearly to one person in radio and one in television who has made an impact on commericial broadcasting.

Gatherings

NAB's annual spring convention is The NAB Show - Where Content Comes To Life. It typically draws over 100,000 industry professionals. ^[11]NAB also manages the NAB Radio Show held each Fall and draws over 3,000 radio professionals. Additional NAB events can be found at their corporate web site, www.nab.org.

External links

• NAB official website
• 2009 NAB Show
• 2008 NAB Radio Show
• NAB365: Broader-casting's Daily Resource

References