Cathy Hughes
Founder and CEO, Radio One, Inc.
Outspoken, community advocate, radio maven
are just a few attributes that will introduce you to Catherine
Hughes, founder and chairman of Radio One, Inc. Cathy Hughes,
52, heads a network of local radio stations from Atlanta,
GA to Washington, DC. The stations are a mixture of formats,
ranging from Urban Contemporary music, to Gospel and Talk.
Based in Landham, MD, Radio One grosses over 65 million annually
and includes top rated stations in DC, Baltimore and Detroit.
Radio One is scheduled to sign on the first Urban Contemporary
FM in Boston sometime this year.
As creator of the first 24-hour talk radio
station to cover news from an African American perspective,
Cathy Hughes champions Black causes. She hosted her own program
for 14 years, leading on-air protests against negative portrayals
of Blacks in the media and vehemently speaking out on such
topics as the loss of Black owned farms, the adoption of Black
children by non-Blacks, and equal pay for women. Says Ms Hughes,
"I take my responsibility to serve the public very seriously."
Her program, which she stopped hosting in 1995, is still among
the top-rated radio talk shows in Washington.
Cathy Hughes started her Washington, DC
radio career at Howard University's WHUR-FM, where she launched
innovative programs such as the "Quiet Storm," five
uninterrupted nighttime hours of ballads. The popular love
song format is now imitated in more than 50 markets.
Cathy Hughes says she now intends to purchase
Black-owned radio stations that are threatened by industry
consolidation. She recently took her company public and states,
"I want to help women and especially women of color to
advance, and possibly become business owners themselves. I
think there's a need for a sisterhood in the industry, which,
to date hasn't materialized."
|
