Hubbard grew up in the business during a time when broadcasters were characterized by entrepreneurship and community roots. He grew up in Minneapolis-St. Paul and still lives there. His family has done business there his entire life. So don“t get him started on the FCC“s new localism rules requiring broadcasters to file quarterly reports on the type of programming they do.

“The lifeblood of a broadcaster is to serve the local community,” he said. “I hope we don“t have a move back to ascertainment. We do that. It“s our life blood. The business is tough enough the way that it is without burdening broadcasters with a bunch of paperwork... To the extent that the government stays out of broadcasting, the public will benefit.”

The Hubbard“s TV business now comprises stations in Minnesota, New Mexico, New York and Iowa. All are run by their local general managers. “Unlike a lot of companies that dictate programming, our stations are truly local stations,” Hubbard said. “The general manager at KOB in Albuquerque“he runs it. He lives in the community. He belongs to the clubs. I don“t. He doesn“t call here and say, “what should we do?“”

At the same time, Hubbard doesn“t think stations owned by large conglomerates are somehow less civic minded.

“In our market, we have Gannett, Fox and CBS... and they“re all good stations,” he said. “No one can say they don“t do a good job serving the public.”