The Story of Our Reach

To learn more about the unique services broadcasters provide, visit WeAreBroadcasters.com.

This year, despite facing economic challenges created by the pandemic, local broadcasters have provided their communities with accurate and timely information on COVID-19 on every platform – on air, online and on social media. Broadcasters have been leading educational efforts in their communities to help prevent the spread of the virus and provide resources and help to those impacted, donating more than $160 million in free airtime to preventative education this spring and summer.

In addition to the locally focused news and updates that are vital to our communities, broadcasters have raised awareness of mental health resources, promoted local businesses and shared positive stories about people helping their neighbors in need. Many other examples of how local stations have supported their communities during this critical time can be found here.

The final phase of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) spectrum repack ended in July. In total, almost 1,000 TV stations changed frequencies since the spectrum repack began in September 2018.

Since the spectrum repack process began, stations did a tremendous job of complying with aggressive FCC deadlines. NAB was proud to support stations with the TV Answers campaign, preparing millions of over-the-air viewers for changes coming to their local TV stations. The campaign provided a multitude of resources to help stations educate their viewers, from a consumer website, TVAnswers.org, customizable spots and scripts to press and social outreach tools. We also provided tools for Congress, the FCC, culturally diverse groups, rural and senior organizations, retailers and manufacturers to ensure no viewer lost access to the lifeline services broadcasters provide because of a lack of information.

The two-year campaign resulted in:

• 1.3 million Facebook impressions
• 900,000 Twitter impressions
• 671,000 website visitors
• 51,000 airings of TV Answers spots
• 24,000 rescan alerts sent to viewers

A detailed report on the campaign and its impact on viewers is provided below.

In 2020, the We Are Broadcasters campaign entered its seventh year and continued to bring to legislators’ attention broadcasters’ vital role in our local communities as investigative journalists, first informers and innovators. New spots were rolled out to remind audiences that they can always rely on local radio and television stations and their network partners for trusted news in uncertain times. The spots highlight broadcasters’ commitment to exercising their First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and of the press to provide critical and factual news to their communities.

Stations across the country also engaged in the campaign on social by sharing the different ways they served their communities using #WeAreBroadcasters. You can read more stories on how stations are helping to guide their communities through the pandemic and every day of the year at WeAreBroadcasters.com/AmericasStories.

NAB also highlighted the important work of local radio and TV stations, broadcast network partners and community and national newspapers to provide the most-trusted news to our communities as bastions of the First Amendment. We invited stations to join us in celebrating the freedoms that the First Amendment grants us by utilizing the resources in our First Amendment toolkit.

The nation’s first commercial radio broadcast was aired by Pittsburgh’s KDKA on November 2, 1920. KDKA broadcast the returns of the presidential race between Warren G. Harding and James M. Cox from a shack atop a Westinghouse building in East Pittsburgh.

To highlight radio’s 100th anniversary, NAB put the spotlight on the enduring value of radio all year through NAB’s #Radio100 campaign. We revisited 100 landmark moments in radio’s history as we approached the centennial, and stations across the country joined the celebration by posting key moments in their own history.

Moments such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fireside chats and WWL-AM’s lifesaving coverage during Hurricane Katrina remind us of broadcasters’ 100 years of extraordinary service to their communities.

We are proud of stations’ dedication to serving their listeners, especially during difficult times. We encourage you to check out this video highlighting some favorite moments stations have shared during the #Radio100 campaign and 100 landmark moments at WeAreBroadcasters.com/Radio100.

Broadcasters played a critical role in helping Americans understand the importance of participating in our democracy by informing and motivating citizens to vote.

On August 3, NAB launched voter education public service announcements produced in partnership with the League of Women Voters to help stations encourage their communities to exercise their right to vote. We are grateful to those stations that donated more than $7 million in airtime to these spots to encourage civic participation.

“The right to vote and a free press are intrinsically linked pillars of American democracy,” said NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith. “As ‘first informers,’ local radio and TV stations understand the indispensable role they play in helping citizens exercise their right to vote.”

NAB voiced grave concern about the violence against journalists who were legally covering the protests that took place across the United States during the summer of 2020. We provided a toolkit with information and resources to help stations navigate these dangerous situations and kept stations apprised of best practices throughout the year as situations developed rapidly.

NAB and the NAB Leadership Foundation have also worked closely with broadcast journalists, station managers, news industry leaders and journalism educators to create a toolkit with guidelines for reporting on sensitive matters of race and religion. Access the Awareness in Reporting toolkit to learn more.

For the first time, the NAB Leadership Foundation's annual Celebration of Service to America Awards went on air and online to broaden our industry's celebration of local broadcasting. These awards honor local radio and television stations for going above and beyond their everyday duties, playing an integral part in informing, supporting and strengthening communities across our country.

The show aired in 210 markets on 617 stations, including 36 broadcast groups with 100% participation from the top 10 markets, reaching 7.5 million people. Award-winning journalist and the host and executive producer of the "Tamron Hall Show," Tamron Hall hosted this hour-long special alongside featured guest appearances from past NAB honorees, including Glenn Close, Sterling K. Brown, Sara Evans and many more.

View the full list of 2020 Service to America Award winners here.

From August 22 through September 20, stations shared how they #BroadcastGood in their communities as part of the 2020 Celebration of Service to America Awards. Stations used the hashtag on their social channels to share stories and images of how they make a difference every day with their incredible public service efforts. With 6.4 million Twitter users reached, we shared with policymakers and key audiences broadcasters’ stories from cancer awareness and food drives to weather emergencies and investigative reporting. Read more stories about how stations #BroadcastGood in their communities here.