With America’s 250th anniversary nearing, broadcasters are ready to own the moment. Those strategies came into focus on Tuesday at NAB Show as executives from radio and television joined NAB Executive Vice President of Public Affairs Michelle Lehman to share ideas and plans for this once-in-a-generation national moment.
Salem Media President of Broadcast Media Allen Power built his framework around a very fitting acronym: USA.
Standing for User-generated content, Specific to your market and your format, and Authenticity, Power said the distinction between manufactured patriotism and genuine local storytelling will determine which stations earn audience loyalty. “It would be very easy to be canned or very trite at a moment like this because it’s patriotism, but we should be incorporating local voices, local stories that are tied to local history,” he said.
He urged stations to match every initiative to their format: a sports station has different America 250 angles than a news-talk station, and content that ignores that reality will feel generic.
Salem’s own execution spans formats. On New York’s 970 The Answer (WNYM-AM), the company is staging a live Times Square event June 23 and 24 headlined by morning host Joe Piscopo, paired with a ticketed dinner for 50 guests. Power said the structure reflects a specific listener interest. “We have found that recently people love experiences,” he said. On the Christian side, Salem is co-sponsoring Rededicate 250, a full-day faith concert and revival planned for the National Mall in DC, and participating in a national prayer initiative the White House helped organize, asking listeners to form groups of ten to pray weekly for the country.
Power said the ask’s simplicity is its strength.
Across its full platform, Salem is running Voices of Freedom, a sweepstakes inviting listeners and viewers to submit audio and video birthday messages for America that will air on radio, online, and on the company’s OTT television channel. Power also highlighted historical vignettes produced by Salem’s Chicago market and rolled out system-wide, written and produced by Salem’s Marcus Brown, as an example of monetizable content built from local talent.
He pointed to several other broadcaster groups of all sizes doing similar work: Beasley Media Group is dedicating a section of its Community of Care public service campaign to America 250 and incorporating dashboard display technology into on-air promotion. Inner Banks Media in North Carolina has developed a local history interview series working with historians to tell regional stories.
Power also offered a low-barrier programming idea any station could adapt: a vignette series inviting local mayors, members of Congress, educators, faith leaders, and medical professionals to record brief on-air messages tied to America 250. “There’s nothing like the sweet sound of someone’s voice and name on the radio and somebody saying, ‘hey, I heard you on the radio,'” he said. He noted the format is easily monetizable and builds relationships with community leaders that stations will want beyond the anniversary year.
Sinclair SVP and Chief Revenue Officer Ryan Moore said Sinclair began planning in 2023 and used the Army-Navy game in December as a launch point, producing a live podcast with sponsorship from USAA and distributing cut-down segments across its television stations and digital platforms.
Weekly national content segments with local sponsorship windows are now running, with full-day specials planned around Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. The initiative has pulled in new advertising categories, including the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. “What’s made it unique for us this year with this initiative is the ability to really let the advertisers come forward, not only to help build a brand and make my drive what they need to, but tell them what America 250 means to them,” Moore said. He added that traditional metrics have not entered those conversations: “Cost per thousand, cost per four million literals have never come into the conversation.”
NBCUniversal Local Vice President of Programming Maggie McCarthy Baxter described NBCUniversal Local’s initiative, Our 250, built from a task force convened in fall 2024 to coordinate content across NBC and Telemundo stations in English and Spanish. The centerpiece is an exclusive partnership with Sail4th 250, a July 4 event featuring more than 30 tall ships from 30 countries sailing into New York Harbor, for which NBCUniversal has secured a six-hour live broadcast.
She said the network is also developing a series called Charting the Course, focused on innovation and what the next 50 years may bring, as a way to bring younger audiences into the anniversary conversation.
All three panelists flagged partisanship as a real operational risk. Power said some faith broadcasters invited to the White House to discuss the Mall event asked directly whether it would be a faith event or a political one, and that some adjusted their level of involvement based on the answer. McCarthy Baxter framed listening as the safeguard. “I think one of the things that we have to always remember as we’re approaching moments like this is not to forget our ability to listen,” she said. “Using that filter as we do our storytelling — this is everyone’s story.”
Lehman closed by encouraging stations that have not yet launched America 250 programming to use NAB resources, including customizable spots, and to submit community event details to NAB for distribution to Capitol Hill. “America only turns 250 years old once,” she said. “So let’s make the most of it.”
