National Association of Broadcasters

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The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association that promotes and protects the interests of free, local radio and television broadcasters throughout the United States.

There are more than 15,000 local radio and television stations in the U.S., serving their communities through public service, local news, entertaining programming and vital community information – such as emergency warnings, traffic information and severe weather alerts. NAB advocates on behalf of these stations before Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the general public.

NAB's annual spring convention, the Electronic Media Show, and its annual NAB Radio Show are attended by over 110,000 industry professionals.[citation needed]

Similar organizations exist in individual U.S. states, including GAB, the Georgia Association of Broadcasters in Georgia. Its counterpart in Canada is CAB, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters.

Contents

Criticism

Many satellite radio enthusiasts have criticized the group 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 2007 proposed merger between the two companies.[1]

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[2]. 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[3][4].

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[5], awarded yearly to one person in radio and one in television who has made an impact on broadcasting history.

External links

References

  1. ^ [1] 28 February 2007 testimony of NAB President David Rehr before US House Judiciary Committee Antitrust Task Force
  2. ^ [2] Low power radio FAQ from Free Press
  3. ^ [3] MITRE Corporation report on third adjacent channel impacts of low power FM stations
  4. ^ [4] Keypoints of the MITRE study from the Prometheus Radio Project
  5. ^ "NAB Hall of Fame", National Association of Broadcasters. Retrieved on 2008-05-03. 
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