Contacts:

Prepared Remarks of Mark P. Mays President and Chief Executive Officer of Clear Channel Communications at the Progress and Freedom Foundation Washington, D.C. (As Delivered)

Thank you, Adam and good afternoon... I’d like to thank the Progress and Freedom Foundation for inviting me today. Your clear thoughts and refreshing candor about the relationship between industry and government are much appreciated.

PFF has never been shy about its views on public policy issues, and over the years you’ve waded into your share of thorny subjects. I’m actually a little concerned that Clear Channel might not be controversial enough for you today! … But I promise to do my best.

I’m here to let you know that free radio is at risk.

… And I’m here to say in the strongest possible terms that – just as we did 10 years ago – free radio needs the government to step up.

The past five weeks have given us enormous clarity on free radio’s vital role in our local communities. Radio was, literally, the lifeline to thousands who were trapped in the flood waters along the Gulf Coast. It was free radio professionals who opened impassible roads and waded through life-threatening waters to restore broadcasts. It was free radio that dispatched rescue workers to people trying to escape rising water by climbing onto their roofs. It was free radio that delivered life-saving information from local authorities to citizens, including where to get water and food and ice. And it was free radio that put aside corporate affiliations to combine resources and staff to create an unprecedented 24/7 joint broadcast that saved peoples’ lives.

When the electricity didn’t work. When television didn’t work. When the Internet didn’t work. When pay radio didn’t work. Free radio worked.

And now, in the aftermath, free radio is leading the fundraising efforts. Fueled by the 200 million Americans who choose free radio every week, our industry has raised nearly $100 million dollars since Katrina hit. This is unprecedented. And it is unmatched by any other medium.

This is the power of free radio.

But today, free radio faces more competitive threats than at any other time in our history … and