Library of American Broadcasting Presents Seventh Annual Giants of Broadcasting Awards
Honorees include Katie Couric, Ken Burns and Dr. Woo Paik
The national Library of American Broadcasting presented its Seventh Annual Giants of Broadcasting Awards at a ceremony and luncheon at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. Charles Osgood of CBS Sunday Morning and CBS Radio continued in his role as Master of Ceremonies. The event, which was attended by prominent members of the broadcasting, media and corporate communities, serves as a tribute to those individuals who have played pivotal roles in creating and advancing the electronic arts.
Honorees:
- Katie Couric, Anchor and Managing Editor, CBS Evening News with Katie Couric
- Ken Burns, Award-winning Documentarian and Biographer (Brooklyn Bridge, The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz and The War)
- Dr. Woo Paik, President and Chief Technology Officer, LG Electronics, known as the “Father of HDTV”
- Barbara Cochran, Veteran Print and Broadcast Journalist and President of the Radio & Television News Directors Association
- Norman Pattiz, Founder and Chairman, Westwood One
- Chris Rohrs, President, Television Bureau of Advertising
Posthumous:
- Bea Arthur, Actress, Maude and Golden Girls
- Edward McMahon, Announcer of The Tonight Show and Host of Star Search
During the ceremony, the Library will also give special tributes to legendary broadcasting icons Walter Cronkite, Paul Harvey and Don Hewitt.
The luncheon is the Library’s largest fundraising event, providing the resources to maintain the nation’s most extensive broadcasting archives. Event sponsors include Arbitron and LG Electronics USA.
“This year’s honorees epitomize the Giants of Broadcasting at their best,” said Donald West, president & CEO of the Library of American Broadcasting. “Throughout their careers, the honorees have made extraordinary contributions to the broadcasting industry in the areas of television, radio, documentary and film.”
The Library has been honoring leaders in the broadcasting industry annually since 2003 – its list of Giants now totals 116. Previous honorees include Good Morning America’s Diane Sawyer, PBS’ Charlie Rose, Bob Schieffer of CBS News, former president of Hearst Frank Bennack Jr. and the late Tim Russert of NBC.
Library of American Broadcasting
The Library of American Broadcasting (LAB) – located at the University of Maryland – is a 37-year-old institution serving as the national information resource for the radio and television industries and the academic communities that rely upon it for depth and expertise. Its collections of historic documents, professional papers, oral and video histories, books and photographs are the nation’s most extensive. LAB is evolving from a conventional library into a “homepage” for the world at large, no longer confined to responding to constituents one at a time but reaching thousands simultaneously through the Internet. LAB’s chairman is Ramsey Woodworth, veteran Washington communications attorney; the president/CEO is Donald West, veteran broadcast journalist and former assistant to the president of CBS Inc.; the dean of libraries at the University of Maryland is Patricia Steele and the curator is Chuck Howell. For more information, visit www.
