EXHIBIT 31.1
CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-14(a)
AND RULE 15d-14(a) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT, AS AMENDED
I, Edward K. Christian, Chief Executive Officer of Saga Communications, Inc., certify that:
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I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of Saga Communications, Inc.; |
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2. |
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Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to
the period covered by this report; |
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3. |
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Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
information included in this report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
report; |
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4. |
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The registrants other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for
establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)), and internal
control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)), for the registrant and have: |
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a) |
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designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused
such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed
under our supervision, to ensure that material information
relating to the registrant, including its consolidated
subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
entities, particularly during the period in which this
report is being prepared; |
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b) |
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designed such internal control over financial reporting, or
caused such internal control over financial reporting to be
designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable
assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting
and the preparation of financial statements for external
purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles; |
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c) |
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evaluated the effectiveness of the registrants disclosure
controls and procedures and presented in this report our
conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure
controls and procedures, as of the end of the period
covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
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d) |
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disclosed in this report any change in the registrants
internal control over financial reporting that occurred
during the registrants most recent fiscal quarter (the
registrants fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual
report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably
likely to materially affect, the registrants internal
control over financial reporting; and |
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The registrants other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed,
based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
reporting, to the registrants auditors and the audit committee of the
registrants board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
functions): |
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a) |
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all significant deficiencies and
material weaknesses in the design or
operation of internal control over
financial reporting which are
reasonably likely to adversely affect
the registrants ability to record,
process, summarize and report
financial information; and |
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b) |
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any fraud, whether or not material,
that involves management or other
employees who have a significant role
in the registrants internal control
over financial reporting. |
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Date: March 16, 2011 |
/s/ Edward K. Christian
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Edward K. Christian |
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Chief Executive Officer |
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