Latest / In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson / Alabama Broadcasters Association Celebrates 80 Years - TPR's In Focus - April 23, 2026

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Alabama Broadcasters Association Celebrates 80 Years - TPR's In Focus - April 23, 2026 · In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson

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  Support comes from the Janice Hawkins Cultural Arts Park
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  on the main campus of Troy University,
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  featuring the International Arts Center,
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  the Fred Nall Hollis Museum, and the Hua Bao Zhu Gallery.
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  More information at troy.edu slash arts park.
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  From Troy Public Radio, this is In Focus,
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  and I'm Carolyn Hutcheson.
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  The Alabama Broadcasters Association
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  is celebrating its 80th anniversary.
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  Sharon Tinsley, ABA president, visits In Focus today
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  to talk about the association's service
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  to the Alabama community.
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  ♪♪
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  Sharon, welcome to Troy Public Radio.
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  Thank you, Carolyn.
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  It is such a pleasure to be back with you.
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  Sharon, tomorrow is a big day
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  because the ABA comes to the capital city.
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  Can you give us a preview?
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  We're so excited.
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  We will be in Montgomery celebrating our 80th anniversary.
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  We're doing a series of nine receptions around the state,
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  and this is number three.
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  We've invited broadcasters and community stakeholders
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  from surrounding areas,
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  and we hope to see everybody there.
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  When we've done this in Mobile and Dothan,
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  broadcasters said it was like having a family reunion.
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  When you visited Dothan on March 20th,
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  you posted the pictures,
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  and everyone seemed to be having a terrific time.
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  Well, it truly is.
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  What is the number of radio and television stations
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  that ABA serves?
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  There are about 345 radio stations
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  across the state of Alabama,
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  and 49 full-power television stations,
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  and then a lot of low-power television stations as well.
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  All those numbers added together,
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  it's just over 400.
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  How does the ABA serve the communities themselves?
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  We work to try to provide services and resources
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  to the stations across the state
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  that help them maintain their staff
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  and maintain their operations,
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  serving them in a variety of ways,
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  everything from coat and food and toy drives in the fall
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  and through the holidays.
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  We help them with any kind of issues
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  around broadcast programming,
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  like high school sports, covering elections.
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  So our service to Alabamians
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  is through the radio and TV stations across the state.
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  What is the EAS system?
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  That's the Emergency Alert System,
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  in the way that we directly serve
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  the people across Alabama.
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  The Emergency Alert System is a distribution system
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  and a reception system of alerts,
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  weather, AMBER alerts, blue alerts,
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  in the case of a law enforcement person
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  who is hurt or killed in the line of duty.
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  The Alabama Broadcasters Association
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  maintains the distribution system across the state,
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  a series of receivers at critical station locations.
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  And then the stations themselves have receiving equipment
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  at every station across the state
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  so that they can get those critical alerts
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  when they're sent out from our distribution system.
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  So we maintain that system
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  and we monitor the health of that system on a weekly basis.
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  And that way, we are directly benefiting
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  the citizens of Alabama.
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  So it is a critically important service
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  that you've provided.
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  How did it all start 80 years ago?
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  Well, 80 years ago, you know, there wasn't television.
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  So it was 1946, right as television was in development,
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  but it was largely started
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  by the radio broadcasters of the state
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  and it was organized through the University of Alabama.
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  And the very first director
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  of the Alabama Broadcasters Association
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  was a University of Alabama employee
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  working out of offices there.
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  Over time, the association grew.
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  By my count, I am the fourth executive
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  over the association in those 80 years.
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  So what attracted you to serve in this capacity?
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  Well, Carolyn, as you know,
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  I have a background in broadcasting
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  and I grew up in Alabama.
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  My family is here.
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  I went to college at the University of Alabama
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  and it was a desire after many years
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  of working in television and the music industry
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  to get back to my home state,
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  close to the radio and television industry
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  and close to my family.
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  I tell people that in my role
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  at the Broadcasters Association,
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  I'm working as a station employee by osmosis.
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  I love that.
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  What is the Voice You Know campaign?
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  The Voice You Know campaign was developed
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  for our station's use.
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  It's a series of radio and television announcements
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  and digital display ads.
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  And it's a direct appeal to younger Alabamians
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  that on any platform,
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  the people that they should turn to
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  for news and information, entertainment,
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  should be the voice they know.
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  And that's a neighbor
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  at a local radio or television station.
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  We hope our stations are using that campaign
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  to remind their communities,
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  their listeners and viewers
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  that they are the voice their audience knows
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  and knows to trust.
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  Sharon, in the last two decades,
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  two decades plus one,
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  that you've been the chief executive,
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  the president of the Alabama Broadcasters Association,
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  you have witnessed what all of us have seen,
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  and that is a struggling newspaper industry.
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  As we all try to deliver news,
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  many of them are going to digital platforms.
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  What are you seeing?
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  As it turns out, Carolyn,
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  the Alabama Press Association is housed in the building
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  with the Alabama Broadcasters Association.
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  They're wonderful neighbors,
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  and we work very closely with them
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  on common legislative issues.
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  And I think they do a great job
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  of representing their newspapers and magazines
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  and the digital properties and assets
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  that their members have.
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  A printed newspaper is very much on the decline,
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  and there's been consolidation in newspaper ownership,
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  just like there has been in commercial radio and television.
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  I think that they've done what our broadcasters have done,
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  and that is a good job of being where their readership is
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  and, in a lot of cases, that's online.
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  So a lot of newspapers have become digital products,
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  and I think folks would be surprised to know
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  how many local newspapers there still are across Alabama,
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  but at the end of the day,
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  the challenges that they've faced
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  have certainly been greater
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  than those that radio and television have.
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  Radio and TV are free, over the air, to Alabamians,
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  and newspapers and magazines, of course,
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  are subscription-based, as are their digital properties.
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  We're just very, very pleased that the role
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  that radio and television serves
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  can still be done for free for your audience.
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  Are there legislative issues that ABA monitors?
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  We monitor the Alabama legislative activity
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  extremely closely.
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  There are lots of bills,
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  more than most people would imagine,
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  that come up on an annual basis
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  that could have direct impact
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  on how the broadcast business is conducted
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  under changes to business law in general
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  in the state of Alabama,
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  and then also laws that are proposed
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  that would somehow impact, interfere with,
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  or in some cases improve
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  how broadcasters serve their audiences.
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  We spend a lot of time watching
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  for any kind of legislation
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  that would make it more difficult
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  for broadcasters or citizens of the state of Alabama
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  to have access to public records and public meetings.
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  And, you know, I have to say,
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  of all the legislative items that we watch for,
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  those are at the top of the list.
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  Freedom of the press.
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  That's exactly right.
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  Well, finally, let's welcome
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  the members of the Alabama Broadcasters Association
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  to the capital city
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  for the 80th anniversary celebration.
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  Thank you, Carolyn.
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  It's been my great pleasure.
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  I've enjoyed radio and television
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  since I was a very young girl
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  growing up in Aram, Alabama, up in Marshall County,
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  and it's always been important to me and always will be.
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  Thank you so much for your visit, Sharon.
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  We look forward to seeing everyone.
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  That was Sharon Tinsley,
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  president of the Alabama Broadcasters Association,
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  and we welcome our fellow broadcasters
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  to the capital city this weekend.
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  Thanks for joining us for In Focus,
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  which is a podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
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  I'm Carolyn Hutcheson,
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  and this is listener-supported Troy Public Radio.