The National Business Aviation Association has pulled its advertising from USA Today after the paper published a story, written by Thomas Frank, that stated that more than half of federal grants to U.S. airports since 1998 went to projects that the FAA characterized as low priority.
Dennis Schaal of Tnooz writes, Dan Hubbard, a spokesman for NBAA, says of the decision to discontinue its advertising of the campaign in USA Today:
“‘We didn’t discuss the decision with USA Today; as we said in our initial announcement, we simply decided it’s time to stop spending advertising dollars with a newspaper that has demonstrated such an anti-general aviation bias in recent months. We’ve received positive feedback from NBAA Members about the wisdom of the decision.’
“And, here’s a portion of the organization’s Letter to the Editors of USA Today:
“‘The kinds of projects your story calls into question often support airports in towns with little or no airline service –- airports that provide a transportation lifeline for small businesses, schools, universities and other organizations, and serve as regional development engines that generate jobs and economic activity.’
“The letter continues: ‘It’s unfortunate that your story overlooked these key facts, and failed to explain the many good reasons why investments in community airports provide a tremendous return to us all.'”
Read more here. USA Today has not responded to the group.
