Cathy Hughes Biography

Cathy Hughes was one of the founders of Radio One’s predecessor company in 1980. Ms. Hughes has worked in various capacities for Radio One since 1980 and was the Chairperson of the Board of Directors and Secretary of Radio and was also the Chief Executive Officer of Radio One from 1980 to 1997. Radio One is the largest African American owned and operated broadcast company in the United States, with 53 radio stations in sixteen markets and a cable network, TV One. Radio One Inc. Chief Executive Alfred Liggins III, agreed to buy a controlling stake in radio personality Tom Joyners media company for $56 million, furthering his attempt to turn the radio company his mother began out of a trailer 24. On May 1999, Cathy Hughes and her son Alfred Liggins (President & CEO) took their company public. Hughes made history again by becoming the first African American Woman with a company on the stock exchange. Radio One’s value is currently in excess of $2 Billion. Black Enterprise named Radio One, ‘Company of the Year’ in 2000, Fortune rated it one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, and Radio One was inducted into the Maryland Business Hall of Fame. Radio One is widely recognized for its intense community involving the trademark of Cathy Hughes. Her pioneering work led Essence to name her one of the 100 Who Have Changed the World, and one of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential Person by Washingtonian magazine. Radio Ink continues to list her as one of the 20 Most Influential Women in Radio and Ebony cites her as one of the 10 Most Powerful Women in Black America. Cathy Hughes and her son Alfred Liggins III were named Entrepreneur of the year by the company Ernst & Young. Ms. Hughes is also a notable member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. The Washington Post describes Hughes as the Voice of the Black community with her stations reaching more than 18 million Black listeners daily. She is committed to keeping Black broadcast ownership alive and her goal of building a broadcast empire with a solid foundation in the African American community has come to fruition. And as a result of this, there has been an increase in revenue and opportunities for minorities and women. Hughes currently has more than 1,500 Black broadcasters as staff at Radio One, Inc. Hughes dedication to minority communities, entrepreneurial spirit and mentoring of women are manifested in every aspect of her work and life. As such, she was honored with The Seventh Congressional District Humanitarian Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Washington Area Broadcasters Association and. She received the National Association of Broadcasters Distinguished Service Award in 2001, as well as the Advertising Club of Metropolitan Washingtons Silver Medal Award. Hughes was also presented with the highly coveted Golden Mike Award from the Broadcasters Foundation, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and a 2002 Essence Magazine Award. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she moved to Washington, D.C. in 1971 and became a lecturer in the newly established School of Communications at Howard University. She pursued a career in radio in 1973 as a general sales manager at WHUR, Howard University Radio, increasing station revenue from $250,000 to $3 million in her first year. In 1975, Hughes became the first female vice president and general manager of station in the nations capital and created the format known as the Quiet Storm the most listened to nighttime radio format, heard in 50 markets nationally. Purchasing her first station in 1980, WOL-AM(D.C.), Cathy Hughes pioneered yet another innovative format, a 24 hour Talk from a Black Perspective. With the theme, Information is Power, WOL is the most listened to talk radio in the nations capital. Radio Ones newest venture as at that time, TV One, Inc. launched on January 19, 2004 in partnership with Comcast, the nations largest pay-television provider. TV One caters to the adult lifestyles of African Americans by offering quality programming such as Good Times, Lincoln Heights, 227, Amen, and a list of original programming. Cathy Hughes sits on the board of TV One and is the Executive Producer of The Gospel of Music with Jeff Majors which also airs on TV One. Cathy Hughes Founded Radio One in Washington, D.C. and though it is now a public company, for Cathy Hughes, the foundation of Radio one is still based on the spirit of a family that strives to reach the heart of community and remain the nations #1 urban radio.

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