NRATV

In 2004, the National Rifle Association (NRA) began offering NRA News, video content available via smartphone applications, web browsers, and streaming devices, billed as "the most comprehensive video coverage of Second Amendment issues, events and culture anywhere in the world." Content categories included commentary, investigative, lifestyle, profiles, campaigns, and history.{{cite news |title=A guide to NRATV: NRA's news outlet is a hybrid of Breitbart and Infowars |date=March 2, 2018 |access-date=May 21, 2019 |first=Cydney |last=Hargis |publisher=Media Matters for America |url=https://www.mediamatters.org/research/2017/08/28/guide-nratv-nras-news-outlet-hybrid-breitbart-and-infowars/217768}}{{cite news |title=NRA TV: A Day in the Life of an American Gun Nut |authorlink=Olivia Nuzzi |first=Olivia |last=Nuzzi |date=December 8, 2015 |access-date=May 17, 2019 |publisher=The Daily Beast |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/nra-tv-a-day-in-the-life-of-an-american-gun-nut}} In 2016, NRA News was expanded and rebranded as NRATV.{{cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/06/nratv-live-streaming-the-apocalypse/559139/|title=Live-Streaming the Apocalypse With NRATV |last=Parker |first=James |date=June 2018 |magazine=The Atlantic |accessdate=April 30, 2019}} Billed as the "voice of the NRA," NRATV is "a central part" of the NRA's messaging, according to The New York Times.{{cite news |title=Incendiary N.R.A. Videos Find New Critics: N.R.A. Leaders |first=Danny |last=Hakim |date=March 11, 2019 |access-date=May 17, 2019 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/11/us/nra-video-streaming-nratv.html}} The slogan of NRATV is "America's Most Patriotic Team on a Mission to Take Back The Truth."{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/21/us/politics/nratv-nra-news-media-operation.html |title=Where the N.R.A. Speaks First and Loudest |last1=Peters |first1=Jeremy W. |authorlink1=Jeremy W. Peters |last2=Benner |first2=Katie |date=February 21, 2018 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=February 25, 2018 |issn=0362-4331}}

NRA News and NRATV were created and operated by Ackerman McQueen, an Oklahoma City-based advertising agency. Until 2019, Ackerman McQueen was the National Rifle Association's largest vendor, and the NRA was Ackerman McQueen's largest client.{{cite news |title=Journalist Chronicles The 'Power Struggle' Within The NRA |date=May 22, 2019 |work=Fresh Air |authorlink=Terry Gross |first=Terry |last=Gross |agency=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/05/22/725690611/journalist-chronicles-the-power-struggle-within-the-nra?t=1559146945000}}{{cite web |author1=Danny Hakim |title=At the N.R.A., a Cash Machine Sputtering |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/us/nra-finances-executives-board-members.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515012517/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/us/nra-finances-executives-board-members.html |archive-date=15 May 2019 |language=English |date=14 May 2019 |url-status=live}} The approach to advertising of the Ackerman McQueen agency is a "philosophy of branded news. Start with the people who matter most, don't be afraid of small audiences, and don't be afraid of owning your narrative. You can do that through advertising but you could also do it as technology progressed in so many ways," according to Ackerman McQueen's chief executive officer Revan McQueen in a 2019 interview.{{cite news |title=Ackerman McQueen is relocating to the Monarch Building in Midtown |first=Steve |last=Lackmeyer |date=January 13, 2019 |newspaper=The Oklahoman |url=https://newsok.com/article/5620050/ackerman-mcqueen-is-relocating-to-the-monarch-building-in-midtown}} "Every brand must be its own media company," according to the Ackerman McQueen website.{{cite news |authorlink=John Oliver |first=John |last=Oliver |work=Last Week Tonight |agency=HBO |date=March 4, 2018 |title=March 4, 2018: NRATV |url=https://www.hbo.com/last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver/2018/63-episode-122}}

The primary sponsors of NRATV were manufacturers of guns and ammunition, such as O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Smith & Wesson, SIG Sauer, Kimber Manufacturing, and Sturm, Ruger & Co.

In the aftermath of the February 14, 2018 Parkland high school shooting, activists created the hashtags #stopNRAmazon and #DumpNRATV asking Amazon to discontinue streaming programs from NRATV, an initiative supported by celebrities like Alyssa Milano, Denis O’Hare, Evan Handler, Ben Gleib, Joshua Malina, Warren Leight, Genevieve Angelson, Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, and Misha Collins.{{Cite news |url=http://observer.com/2018/02/amazon-nratv-florida-shooting-twitter/ |title=Activists Blast Amazon for Streaming NRATV After Florida Shooting |last=Bonazzo |first=John |date=February 22, 2018 |newspaper=The Observer |access-date=February 25, 2018 |location=United Kingdom}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/business/nra-boycott.html|title=Companies Cut Ties to the N.R.A., but Find There Is No Neutral Ground|last1=Creswell|first1=Julie|date=February 23, 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 24, 2018|last2=Hsu|first2=Tiffany|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/amazon-nratv-app-apple-tv-roku-1202707961/|title=Amazon Targeted in Calls to Drop NRA TV App, Which Is Also on Apple TV, Roku|last=Spangler|first=Todd|date=February 22, 2018|work=Variety|access-date=February 24, 2018|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/40534775/people-are-furiously-criticizing-amazon-over-the-nras-streaming-tv-channel|title=People are furiously criticizing Amazon over the NRA's streaming TV channel|last=Weissman|first=Cale G.|date=February 22, 2018|work=Fast Company|access-date=February 24, 2018|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=http://observer.com/2018/02/nra-tv-amazon-alyssa-milano-gun-control/|title=Celebs Join Forces to Lobby Amazon to Cut NRA TV|last=Katz|first=Brandon|date=February 23, 2018|work=Observer|access-date=February 24, 2018|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.dailydot.com/upstream/amazon-nra-tv/|title=#StopNRAmazon demands Amazon drop NRA TV|last=Cagle|first=Tess|date=February 23, 2018|work=The Daily Dot|access-date=February 24, 2018|language=en-US}}{{cite news |title=Amazon is getting slammed for streaming NRA TV after the Florida shooting |first=John |last=Bonazzo |date=February 25, 2018 |access-date=May 20, 2019 |work=Business Insider |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-is-getting-slammed-for-streaming-nra-tv-after-the-florida-shooting-2018-2}} Other companies offering NRATV programs as part of their streaming services became the target of a similar campaign launched by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense and Everytown for Gun Safety.{{Cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/02/23/media/nra-tv-apple-tv-amazon-fire-roku-chromecast/ |title=Gun safety groups want Apple TV and Amazon Fire to pull NRATV |last=Meyersohn |first=Nathaniel |publisher=CNN Business |agency=CNN |access-date=May 18, 2018}}{{cite news |newspaper=The Guardian |title=NRA TV: inside the channel activists are urging Apple and Amazon to axe |first=Adam |last=Gabbatt |date=March 1, 2018 |access-date=May 17, 2019 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/28/nratv-gun-tv-channel-apple-amazon-google}}

In late November 2018, NRATV laid off several staff members following a $55 million decrease in revenue at the NRA.{{cite news |newspaper=The Hill |title=Layoffs hit NRATV after gun-rights group loses $55M in revenue |first=Joe |last=Concha |date=November 29, 2018 |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/418989-layoffs-hit-nratv-after-gun-rights-group-loses-55m-in-revenue}}{{cite news |work=Salon |title=Layoffs hit NRATV after gun sales slump in Trump era |first=Timothy |last=Johnson |date=November 30, 2018 |access-date=May 23, 2019 |url=https://www.salon.com/2018/11/30/layoffs-hit-the-nras-media-operation-nratv_partner/}}

In 2010, Tyler Schropp came to the NRA from Ackerman McQueen and became development director at the NRA. Between 2010 and 2019, the NRA paid $18 million to a production company for the NRATV hunting series Under Wild Skies. Schropp had an ownership position in the production company until at least 2017. As a tax-exempt organization, federal regulation restrict transactions that benefit key executives.{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |title=N.R.A. President to Step Down as New York Attorney General Investigates |first=Danny |last=Hakim |date=April 27, 2019 |access-date=May 23, 2019 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/27/us/oliver-north-nra.html}}{{cite news |title=Secrecy, Self-Dealing, and Greed at the N.R.A. |first=Mike |last=Spies |date=April 17, 2019 |magazine=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/secrecy-self-dealing-and-greed-at-the-nra}}

On April 12, 2019, the NRA sued Ackerman McQueen for over-billing and lack of transparency. The suit alleged that Ackerman had denied the NRA access to basic business records in support of Ackerman's billing to the NRA, a lack of transparency that "threatens to imminently and irreparably harm" the NRA's nonprofit status.{{cite news |title=N.R.A. Sues Contractor Behind NRATV |newspaper=The New York Times |first=Danny |last=Hakim |date=April 15, 2019 |access-date=April 18, 2019

|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/business/nra-nratv-lawsuit.html}}{{cite news |title=NRA Files Suit Against Ad Agency in Rift With Key Partner |first=Mark |last=Maremont |date=April 15, 2019 |access-date=April 18, 2019 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/nra-files-suit-against-ad-agency-in-rift-with-key-partner-11555320601}}{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/nra-sues-its-main-advertiser-for-allegedly-withholding-billing-information |title=NRA sues its main ad agency for allegedly withholding billing information |publisher=Fox News |date=March 2, 2019 |accessdate=April 18, 2019}} Ackerman said the suit was "inaccurate" and "frivolous."

NRATV's editorial scope was a major issue in the lawsuit. Some NRA board members, including Marion Hammer, questioned the value of NRATV to the NRA.{{cite news |title=NRA beset by infighting over whether it has strayed too far |first=Lisa Marie |last=Pane |date=April 24, 2019 |access-date=May 23, 2019 |work=Associated Press News |url=https://www.apnews.com/bda97817dabf492e9be8099bdd1a4cd6}}{{cite news |first=Lisa Marie |last=Pane |date=April 27, 2019 |access-date=May 23, 2019 |title=NRA Falls Into Internal Turmoil as Some Oppose Top Leadership |magazine=Time |agency=Associated Press |url=http://time.com/5579079/nra-turmoil-oppose-wayne-lapierre/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428104446/http://time.com/5579079/nra-turmoil-oppose-wayne-lapierre/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 28, 2019}} According to the NRA in the complaint, "certain NRA stakeholders were also concerned that NRATV’s messaging — on topics far afield of the Second Amendment — deviated from the NRA’s core mission and values."{{cite news |agency=Talking Points Memo |title=NRA Sues Its Longtime Advertising Firm, Revealing Major Internal Dispute |first=Josh |last=Kovensky |date=April 16, 2019 |access-date=May 23, 2019 |url=https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/nra-sues-nratv-oliver-north-grift-lawsuit}}{{cite web |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=National Rifle Association of America v. Ackerman McQueen, Inc. and Mercury Group |date=April 12, 2019 |access-date=May 23, 2019 |page=8 |url=https://www.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/NRAlawsuit041519.pdf}}{{cite news |title=Oliver North will not serve second term as NRA president amid bitter infighting at gun rights group |date=April 27, 2019 |access-date=May 23, 2019 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/27/oliver-north-will-not-serve-second-term-as-nra-president-amid-bitter-infighting-at-gun-rights-group.html}} NRATV aired segments on immigration and gender identity, warned of possible race wars, and called for a protest march on the FBI, positions never taken by the NRA.

Among the issues in the lawsuit was the NRA's request for details of Ackerman McQueen's $1 million contract with NRA president Oliver North to host NRATV programming. Ackerman McQueen declined to provide the NRA with the full contract, and North through counsel declined to provide the NRA with the contract without Ackerman McQueen consent. The office of NRA president is unpaid. "Oliver North is employed by Ackerman McQueen, a vendor of the NRA. And it is clear that his loyalty is to Ackerman McQueen," according to NRA board member Marion Hammer. On April 27, 2019, North announced he would not serve a second term.

In June 2019, the NRA's Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre announced that the NRA would halt the production of content at NRATV, a move seen as related to the power struggle in the NRA.

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.nratv.com/ NRATV website] (offline)

{{National Rifle Association}}

Category:Advertising campaigns

Category:Defunct television networks in the United States

Category:Internet television channels

Category:Streaming television in the United States

Category:Lobbying in the United States

Category:National Rifle Association

Category:Television channels and stations established in 2016

Category:Television channels and stations disestablished in 2019