Dear Shareholders,
On our year-end conference call, I said that last year was the
best in Emmis Communications’ history. And while that might
have sounded like the usual Wall Street hyperbole – like any
other CEO bragging about his company’s performance – the
difference is, I believed it. And I still do.
But I’ve been in this business long enough to know two
things for sure: What I believe is not as important as what I
can prove, and what we did last year is only meaningful if it
reflects on how we will do in the coming year. The good
news is, Emmis does have the results to back up my high
praise, and what we did to perform last year does directly
relate to how we’ll perform in the year ahead.
The best year 
The bottom line is this: Emmis Communications turned in a
remarkable performance last year. Again and again, and by a
number of measures, we outperformed our peers, our mar-
kets and our own solid track record.
And we did this in a year that was challenging in just about
every way. The economy was unstable, public companies
came under continuing scrutiny, indecency issues hounded
broadcasters, competition for tight ad dollars increased and
technology continued to reshape the media world. 
But our people refused to be slowed by those challenges.
Instead, they worked through them. They innovated, hustled
and focused. And they produced. 
Our radio division’s revenue growth led our markets and the
industry – in our fiscal year, our group was up 4.5 percent
while our markets were up 2.7 percent and the industry only
1 percent. Based on this kind of performance, we have con-
sistently ranked among the nation’s leaders in per-station
revenue, and we continue to produce top-rated programming
in markets across the nation.
Our TV performance was even more impressive. The Emmis
television group’s revenues were up 0.5 percent in calendar
2003, a year when our markets saw a 2.3 percent decrease
in revenues, and the industry experienced a 4.7 percent 
revenue decline. This industry-leading result made us one of
the few groups in the nation to post positive growth. In addi-
tion, we gained revenue share at 11 of our 13 measured 
stations and held the line on expenses, giving us a 1.2 
percent increase in fiscal-year cash flow.
Our publishing and international divisions also posted strong
results. In a tough publishing market, our magazines boosted
their division’s revenues by 4.6 percent over last year and
increased cash flow by 3.3 percent. Our international division
turned in a revenue increase of 27 percent and a cash flow
increase of 31 percent.
In addition to boosting performance in our divisions, we
honed our corporate operations by continuing to build one 
of the most adept and hardest-working corporate groups in
American media. With this team in place, we’ve brought
our leverage and cost of capital down to more manageable
levels, found ways to combat the continually increasing
costs of health insurance and, in a truly top-notch effort,
smoothly integrated our new Austin radio properties – in just
under a year as a part of Emmis, the Austin properties are
enjoying significant ratings and revenue increases. 
Of course, for you, the real bottom line on our performance is
its impact on your investment. I’m proud to say that we saw
a 27 percent increase in our share price over the course of
the last fiscal year – we ended fiscal ’03 at 19.79, and closed
the book on fiscal ’04 at 25.17.
How we did it
Operationally, we were on top of our game last year. However,
as I said, I know that the past year’s performance really only
matters if it reflects on what we’ll do in the coming year. The
good news is, it does. We performed at these high levels not
by doing something unusual, but by operating the way Emmis
has always operated, and the way we always will.
First of all, we focus on assembling and maintaining the best
teams in our markets. We have traditionally had the top
salespeople, creative and technical professionals, news