GREETINGS FROM THE PRESIDENT

Bill Grady President 2001/02

Welcome to West Des Moines for the IBA Summer Convention. I hope the "condensed version" of our annual summer meeting better fits your busy schedule and rewards you with many great ideas and new information.
As President of your lowa Broadcasters Association this past year, I want to thank you for the support you have given this association. Because of your participation in the Non- Commercial Sustaining Announcement program (NCSA) and your annual membership dues, I am happy to report that the IBA is strong and continues to have the resources needed to serve you today and for many years to come.

As an association, our lobbying efforts are only as strong as the grassroots support that you have given by calling our representatives in Washington, DC. In February, you were well represented with personal, face-to-face visits to each of our lowa Congressmen. During our visit to Washington, we were successful in telling the story of how pending legislation such as the anti-broadcaster Torricelli Amendment would adversely affect you and your bottomline.

Please join me in congratulating our scholarship and grant recipients as they share their special day with family, teachers, and friends. Our profession needs more bright people, and I hope they have a chance to give back to our association by working for one of our lowa broadcast stations upon graduation.

It has been a great privilege to serve and represent you as President of the IBA. I want to especially thank the Board of Directors and our Executive Director for sharing their time and talents with me this past year. If you are ever extended the invitation to take on a leadership role on the IBA Board, you'll find that these are some of the finest professionals in our industry.

I hope you enjoy your day with us!

IOWA BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION
"Radio and television stations working to promote, protect and enhance free over-the-air broadcasting."

Presidential Scrap Book Material!
Good JOB!
IBA - P.O. Box 71186, Des Moines email: iowaiba@dwx.com

House was right to vote against ad-rate cut

Members of Congress, sometimes targets of criticism for voting themselves "special treatment," took a curious hit from David Broder for rejecting such treatment ("Look at What Broadcasting Industry Would Get Away With," Feb. 23). Broder's tortured logic finds three of four House members to be corrupt or weak for having voted against a scheme to cut the rates they would pay for campaign ads.

The proposal, known as the Torricelli Amendment after its Senate sponsor, would allow federal candidates to run ads before an election at rates discounted far below what
other advertisers, including state and local can- didates, would pay.
Broder's cheerleading for this flawed proposal ignores the facts that swayed many House members to vote against it.

First, federal candidates already run their ads at the "lowest unit charge" (LUC) rate, not the "premium rates"
that Broder erroneously alleges. Under the current LUC, according to the Feb. 25 Washington Post, candidates already "enjoy a discount of 25 percent to 30 percent."

Second, nothing in the Torricelli proposal would limit the total dollar amount spent on ads. Simple arithmetic suggests that the same pot of money spent at a lower rate yields more, not fewer, campaign ads.
But setting political- advertising arcana aside, many House members couldn't stomach the inherent unfairness that the Torricelli ad rate cut would inject into local economies.

One member said he was not going to go back to his district and tell local businesses that his ads were more important than theirs, or that their ad dollars should subsidize discounts for candidates.
And House members know firsthand that many local television stations already offer free airtime for debates, but the candidates them- selves sometimes reject it.

Not surprisingly, candidates may choose to control their own message on the airwaves, and that entails running ads.

House members had the opportunity to pull off a real steal for their campaign bank accounts, and they refused. Maybe you really can't put a price on common sense.

Bill Grady, 
President, Iowa Broadcasters Association, 
KVFD/KUEL, Fort Dodge.