Giants of Broadcasting Awards Honorees include Brian Williams, Christiane Amanpour,Charles Osgood

Oct. 12, 2011 - PRLog -- NEW YORK– The national Library of American Broadcasting will present it’s Ninth Annual Giants of Broadcasting Awards at a ceremony and luncheon this Friday, October 14, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. The event, which will be attended by prominent members of the broadcasting, media and corporate communities, serves as a tribute to individuals who have played pivotal roles in creating and advancing the electronic arts. Bill Baker, president emeritus at WNET New York and himself a giant of broadcasting, will serve as this year’s master of ceremonies.

Honorees:      
Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor, NBC Nightly News      
Christiane Amanpour, anchor of ABC’s This Week with Christiane Amanpour and former international correspondent at CNN    
CBS Sunday Morning      
Charles Kuralt, former anchor and CBS veteran      
Robert “Shad” Northshield, creator of the program and news producer      
Charles Osgood, anchor for nearly two decades      
Rand Morrison, executive producer    
Brian Lamb, creator, founder and CEO of C-SPAN
Fred Pierce, former president and COO at ABC                  
Frances Preston, former president and CEO of BMI for two decades    
John Dille, president of federated media and former chairman of NAB and RAB

Posthumous:                
James Arness, actor who played Marshal Matt Dillon on the television show Gunsmoke                
Dawson “Tack” Nail, prominent reporter at Television Digest, Communications Daily and Broadcasting & Cable                
Rick Buckley, legendary chairman and president of Buckley Broadcasting

The luncheon is the Library’s largest fundraising event, providing the resources to maintain the nation’s most extensive broadcasting archives. The cocktail reception begins at 11:30 a.m. and the awards ceremony begins at noon. “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, journalism and film.” The Library has been honoring leaders in the broadcasting industry annually since 2003. Its list of Giants now totals 140. Previous honorees include noted broadcasters Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Paul Harvey, Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Johnny Carson, Barbara Walters, Sam Donaldson, Charlie Rose, Hal Jackson and Katie Couric; industry founders David Sarnoff of NBC, William S. Paley of CBS, Leonard Goldenson of ABC,  Clear Channel Communications’ Lowry Mays; producer Ken Burns; and inventors Philo Farnsworth and Guglielmo Marconi. The Library of American Broadcasting, located at the University of Maryland, is entering its 40th year 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. “The Giants of Broadcasting Awards is a wonderful event, not only because we  honor true ‘giants’ of the field, but because we support an important cause – the Library of American Broadcasting, our nation’s most preeminent and extensive collection of broadcasting archives, ” says longtime Board Member Dr. Judy Kuriansky. “By preserving the broadcasting industry’s history and tradition, the Library serves as a unique resource for everyone from students to professionals and the public to study the field, while keeping an eye on the future of our industry.” Dr. Kuriansky, a renowned radio and TV broadcaster for decades, is a faculty member at Columbia University Teachers College.

The Library of American Broadcasting (www.libraryofamericanbroadcasting.com) holds lectures and symposia, and it is evolving from a conventional library into a portal for the world at large, reaching thousands simultaneously through the Web and via social media (https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Library-of-American-Bro...).  
GIANTS OF BROADCASTING LUNCHEON: WHEN:                      Friday, October 14,   11:30 a.m. (Reception)                                                                              Noon – 2:30 p.m. (Luncheon and Awards Ceremony)               WHERE:                    New York’s Grand Hyatt Hotel                                   42nd Street and Grand Central Station
TICKETS: For reservations for tables and individual tickets contact Jessica Wolin, 212.685.4233 or e-mail jessicawolin@hotmail.com.
PRESS: Members of the press RSVP to Donnetta Campbell, 646 .532.1512  or email  barnyardgroup@gmail.com  
Interviews are available with:(1)   Don West, President and CEO of the Library, Phone: 703.548.6090, email:westsqn@aol.com. West was the longtime editor of Broadcasting and Cable magazine.(2)   Dr. Judy Kuriansky, LAB board member, veteran radio call-in talk show host and TV commentator Phone: (917) 224-5839, emailDrJudyK@aol.com. “Dr. Judy” is an internationally renowned psychologist and award-winning journalist. She is well-known for her former popular syndicated radio show, which originated from Z100 for years, for her feature reporting on WCBS-TV, WABC-TV and CNBC-TV, and for her current commentary on national and international media, including China’s CCTV and CNN International.

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.

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