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Freedom Communications — American Executive Spotlight
http://www.redcoatpublishing.com/spotlights/sl_04_06_freedomcomm.asp
04/04/2006 10:14 AM
Page 1 of 3
Freedom Communications
concerns.
Scott Flanders discusses how focusing on
individual liberties is keeping his company on
track. Amanda Barber reports.
In the age of on-demand information, picking
up a local newspaper is not necessarily the
best way to get a news update. So it’s
understandable that remaining relevant is at the
forefront of the print media industry’s
Lately, many in the print media are shifting focus toward other
media. But for Scott Flanders, the newly appointed president and
CEO of Freedom Communications, Inc., the fourteenth largest
media company in the US, the idea of turning away from print
media has never crossed his mind.
“Nationwide, the newspaper industry is losing circulation,” said
Flanders. “We’re choosing not to participate in that trend. We are
going to modify, redesign, and re-edit our existing print products to
ensure that we are gaining total circulation in our markets.”
With more than 20 years of experience in the media business,
Flanders has a variety of specific ideas on how to carry his
company to the top. As he looks to expand the company’s printmedia
empire, the most important one is adhering to the core
beliefs of Freedom’s founding father, R.C. Hoilies—respect for
individual freedom, liberty, and integrity.
“We believe in a personal responsibility,” said Flanders. “We keep
that as a core corporate principal.” Already labeled a trusted local
authority for news and information in the Texas, California, North
Carolina, and Northwest Florida markets, Flanders believes the
company’s libertarian values are an added bonus to any company
willing to participate in the Freedom ideology.
“We provide a great deal of autonomy to our local publishers and
general managers so they can lead their media properties to be
responsive to their community,” he said. “We absolutely want to
support the local brands.”
As many small, local companies struggle to compete with
nationwide publications, Freedom offers an umbrella of fiscal
comfort without the restraints associated with a homogenized
corporate dictatorship.
“We don’t interfere with editorial independence and are committed
to private ownership,” said Flanders. “We do more than just bring

Freedom Communications — American Executive Spotlight
http://www.redcoatpublishing.com/spotlights/sl_04_06_freedomcomm.asp
04/04/2006 10:14 AM
Page 2 of 3
to private ownership,” said Flanders. “We do more than just bring
money to the table. We bring the ability to have the legacy of a
local media company preserved under our umbrella.”
Past and present
Although newspapers have traditionally taken one-size-fits-all
approach, Flanders believes the future of newspapers is in
segmentation. He sees an increasing need to have customized
newspapers based on household demographics such as age,
economics, and language. One of the company’s first ventures into
this philosophy has started to pay off.
“Our La Frontera Spanish-language newspaper in Texas turned a
profit in January for the first time,” said Flanders. “We’ve been
investing at a prudent pace over the past couple of years, and our
Spanish products are starting to turn a profit.”
He attributes this success to his company’s ability to build off of
its core strength. These local innovations use the existing printing
press as well as focusing on Freedom’s ideology on personal
ownership and community involvement.
“Our publishers get rated every year on their stewardship in their
communities,” said Flanders. “We rank them against their peers in
a number of categories, but the most important is that one.”
The space between
Along with his plans for segmentation and diversification for the
company’s print media, Flanders intends to invest in the
company’s interactive space and beef up online revenues. He
believes that by coupling print media with Internet development,
Freedom will be able to keep its head above water—and possibly
gain some ground.
“I am increasing our focus on print innovation as well as our
online efforts,” he said. “We are putting more investment against
both of those initiatives, and the early results are favorable.”
The company’s online revenues are currently at 3% of total
revenue. Flanders plans to get that figure up to 10% quickly, with
a goal of achieving $100 million of interactive revenue in three
years. With advertising as the company’s primary revenue source,
Flanders knows that by maintaining relevance in local print media,
local online media will also flourish. The company already spends
around $20 million on IT, not including its Internet efforts.
“We have URLs beyond our newspaper brands,” he said. “For
example, in Colorado Springs, we have Coloradosprings.com. A
lot of visitors to Colorado Springs don’t know the local
newspaper, and when they search for Coloradosprings.com, there
we are.”
The company is currently recruiting for a president of its
interactive development. Flanders said he wants to bring someone
in with a diversified media background to support Freedom’s
efforts. “It will enable us to consolidate our efforts and leverage
the scale we have as a billion-dollar company,” he said.
Rules and regulations
With such an enlightened point of view regarding company policy,
it is interesting to hear Flanders’ views surrounding governmental
regulations. With five CBS and three ABC affiliates to manage,
Flanders has a definite opinion about federal regulation.

Freedom Communications — American Executive Spotlight
http://www.redcoatpublishing.com/spotlights/sl_04_06_freedomcomm.asp
04/04/2006 10:14 AM
Page 3 of 3
Flanders has a definite opinion about federal regulation.
“I believe that the cross-ownership rules and the duopoly rules of
the FCC are antiquated,” he said. “I believe that government
should take a minimalist approach to restraint on trade and
corporate activity. The free market is best at sorting out those
issues.”
Although the First Amendment protects Freedom’s newspapers, its
television stations are licensed by the FCC. There are many
restrictions and requirements on programming choices, but
Flanders said this is something they have learned to live with. As
with most issues surrounding his business, he keeps a positive
outlook.
“With so many other sources of news, information, and
entertainment that you can acquire from home, those crossownership
and duopoly rules need to be reevaluated,” he said.
“They need to be careful and not to react precipitously, but the
FCC appears to be headed in the right direction.” The same could
be said for Freedom Communications.
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