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Executive Profiles


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."

 



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