Steve Newberry, CEO of Commonwealth Broadcasting, has been elected to a second term as Chairman of the NAB Joint Board. The TV Board chair is also repeating, but the Radio Board has elected a new leader.
Beasley Broadcast Group Exec. VP and CFO Caroline Beasley was elected Chair of the NAB Radio Board as the organization’s Board of Directors met this week in Washington, DC. She succeeds Charles Warfield of ICBC Holdings and had been Vice Chair. Elected to fill that post was Rick Cummings, President of Programming for Emmis Communications. Randy Gravley, President and CEO of Tri State Communications, was elected Second Vice Chair. Cumulus Media CEO Lew Dickey was elected to the board’s major group representative seat.
For the Television Board, Paul Karpowicz, President, Meredith Local Media Group, was elected to a second term as Chair. Marci Burdick, Sr. VP of Broadcast and Cable for Schurz Communications, was elected First Vice Chair and Hearst Television CEO David Barrett Second Vice Chair. Susan Fox, VP of Disney Government Relations, will fill the designated network seat on the executive committee.
In addition to Newberry’s re-election as Chair of the Joint Board, the board went through the formal process of electing Sen. Gordon Smith as President and CEO of the NAB. The organization’s COO/CFO Janet McGregor was elected secretary/treasurer of the board.
Each and every one of the elections above was by unanimous vote, according to the minutes released by the NAB.
The big news had already occurred before the board meetings this week. Newberry made a point of welcoming the return of CBS and Fox to NAB membership, completing the roster of major TV network members in the organization. Both had rejoined NAB in May, ending a split over the organization’s position on ownership limits.
No new policies were adopted at this week’s meetings. Rather, the NAB continues to battle against performance royalty legislation and to encourage the inclusion of FM receivers in cell phones. On the TV side, NAB is closely watching the FCC’s moves on potential proposals to reallocate some TV spectrum and is defending the current law regarding retransmission consent.
