Ackerley Communications changes name to the Ackerley Group, names new co-chairman; a successful business strategy drives a company's evolution.SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 1996--In a move designed to reflect the diversified nature of its business today, Ackerley Communications (ASE (Adaptive Server Enterprise) A relational DBMS from Sybase that runs on Windows NT/2000, Linux and a variety of Unix platforms. ASE is a comprehensive and robust data management product with a long history dating back to the late 1980s. :AK) has changed its name to The Ackerley Group The Ackerley Group was an American media company that owned several television stations (mainly in New York State, California, as well as one in Fairbanks) that was taken over by Clear Channel Communications in 2001. Its chairman was Seattle-based businessman Barry Ackerley. . Additionally, Barry Ackerley, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of The Ackerley Group announced that his wife, Ginger Ackerley, has been named co-chairman in recognition of the key role she has played in setting corporate philosophy in the areas of human resources The fancy word for "people." The human resources department within an organization, years ago known as the "personnel department," manages the administrative aspects of the employees. and community relations 1. The relationship between military and civilian communities. 2. Those public affairs programs that address issues of interest to the general public, business, academia, veterans, Service organizations, military-related associations, and other non-news media entities. . "We've evolved the name of our company, just as we've evolved its business focus to encompass broadcasting, sports and entertainment, and advertising," said Barry Ackerley. "What's remained the same is our strategy of identifying undervalued Undervalued A stock or other security that is trading below its true value. Notes: The difficulty is knowing what the "true" value actually is. Analysts will usually recommend an undervalued stock with a strong buy rating. assets and then working to maximize their value to the company, customers and the community." The roots of The Ackerley Group can be traced back to 1975, when Barry Ackerley started a small Seattle outdoor advertising company called Northwest Communications. After purchasing a local competitor and expanding throughout the Pacific Northwest, the company changed its name in 1976 to Ackerley Communications. Today, The Ackerley Group is the fifth-largest outdoor advertising company in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and owns more than 9,500 billboards nationwide. Ackerley entered the airport advertising business in 1981, and is now the leading provider of airport advertising in the nation, managing displays in 83 U.S. airports. Both the airport and outdoor advertising companies are highly successful businesses which have recently undergone a renaissance, driven largely by technological and marketing innovations pioneered by The Ackerley Group. Along with the corporate name change, the out-of-home advertising Out-of-home advertising (also referred to as OOH) is essentially all type of advertising that reaches the consumer while he or she is outside the home. This is in contrast to broadcast, print, or internet advertising, which may be delivered to viewers out-of-home (e.g. divisions will change their names to better reflect regional and business identity, while preserving ties to the company name through its stock ticker Stock ticker A letter designation assigned to securities and mutual funds that trade on US financial exchanges. : AK. Ackerley's out-of-home advertising divisions, now serving the Seattle, Portland, South Florida and Greater Boston markets have been renamed, AK Media/Northwest, AK Media/Florida and AK Media/Massachusetts. Ackerley's nationally renowned airport advertising division is now called AK Media/Airport. The selection of Ginger Ackerley for co-chairmanship comes as an addition to her long-standing role as the company's chairman of Corporate Giving. A well-known philanthropic leader in the Pacific Northwest, she is the current president of the board of directors for the Pacific Science Center The Pacific Science Center is a science museum in Seattle, Washington. Organization Pacific Science Center is an independent, non-profit science museum based in Seattle, Washington. It sits on 7.1 acres of land located on the south side of the Seattle Center. and immediate past chairman of the board of trustees board of trustees Politics The posse of thugs who oversee an institution's administration. See Board of directors. for the Corporate Council for the Arts. "For years, Ginger has helped lead our company in the areas of community and public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most , employee relations and marketing," Ackerley said. "This action by the board of directors formalizes her important role with The Ackerley Group and recognizes her significant contributions to our company and the community in general." At the same time, the responsibilities of Barry Ackerley, company chairman, and the other senior management team members will remain unchanged. The Ackerley Group holdings include six television stations and two professional sports franchises, as well as a majority interest in New Century Media, the owner of three Seattle-area radio stations. Along with Full House Sports and Entertainment, which oversees finance, broadcast production and marketing of the SuperSonics and SeaDogs, these holdings comprise a large and diversified media and entertainment corporation. The broadcast companies and Full House Sports and Entertainment retained their names. All told, The Ackerley Group consists of 14 highly successful media and entertainment companies which are made up of nearly 1,500 full and part-time employees. The past year provided strong growth for the company including the purchase of KFTY-TV in Santa Rosa, CA, the opening of the new KeyArena at the Seattle Center and the continued expansion of its community services efforts. "These are exciting times for The Ackerley Group," Barry Ackerley said. "We view our past accomplishments not as a signal to rest on our laurels, but as a challenge to spur us on to future achievement." CONTACT: Rosanne Marks/Kathy Savitt, 206/689-8505 |
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