The founder and Chairman of the Board of Emmis Communications is the recipient of the 2017 Lowry Mays Excellence in Broadcasting Award.
Jeff Smulyan will be presented the award at the Broadcasters Foundation of America annual breakfast on April 26 in the Brahms Room of the Encore Hotel during the 2017 NAB Show in Las Vegas.
Smulyan formed Emmis in 1980, and today is known as the parent of such radio stations as KPWR-FM “Power 106” in Los Angeles and WQHT-FM “Hot 97” in New York, in addition to stations in St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Austin.
He is also considered the champion of enabling FM chips in smartphones, as Emmis is the parent of TagStation and NextRadio.
Smulyan is a former director of the NAB and former Chairman of the RAB. His leadership has been recognized with the American Women in Radio and Television’s Silver Satellite and Star Awards, the NAB’s National Radio Award, Radio Ink’s Radio Executive of the Year, and Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year.
The Broadcasters’ Foundation honored him with its Golden Mike Award, and he was named a “Giant of Broadcasting” by the Library of American Broadcasting.
The Lowry Mays Excellence in Broadcasting Award is bestowed annually on an individual in broadcasting whose work exemplifies innovation, community service, advocacy, and entrepreneurship. It salutes its namesake Lowry Mays and is underwritten by The Mays Family Foundation.
This year’s event is sponsored by Frank N. Magid Associates, Marketron, the NAB, the National Association of Media Brokers (NAMB), Nielsen, the RAB and the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB).
