NRA to Shut Down NRATV Amid Feud With Broadcasting Partner

The decision effectively removes Dana Loesch from her place as the face of gun advocacy

The NRA
The NRA is ending its "live TV" show. (Justin Sullivan/ Getty)
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The National Rifle Association has decided to pull the plug on its live broadcast and Dana Loesch, one of the more prominent faces and voices of gun advocacy in the U.S.

The N.R.A. also officially severed ties with its former advertising firm, Ackerman McQueen, which ran NRATV, according to The New York Times. The relationship between the gun owners’ group and the firm has been strained for months since higher-ups at the N.R.A. publicly criticized Ackerman McQueen in a Times article in March. The two sides then announced last month that their 30-year partnership would be ending amid of slew of lawsuits from either side.

While previously recorded episodes of the show may still air, NRATV will stop producing new content and, in effect, remove Loesch — an Ackerman employee — from her place as the N.R.A.’s loudest supporter.

“Many members expressed concern about the messaging on NRATV becoming too far removed from our core mission: defending the Second Amendment,” the N.R.A.’s chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, wrote in a message to N.R.A. members that was obtained by the Times. “So, after careful consideration, I am announcing that starting today, we are undergoing a significant change in our communications strategy. We are no longer airing ‘live TV’ programming.”

The Times was also privy to an exchange between the N.R.A. and Ackerman’s chief executive, Revan McQueen. The association said it “regrets that a longstanding, formerly productive relationship comes to an end in this fashion,” to which Ackerman replied in a statement that it was “not surprised that the N.R.A. is unwilling to honor its agreement to end our contract and our long-standing relationship in an orderly and amicable manner.”

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