Back talk with Cathy Hughes.On May 6, 1999, Catherine L. Hughes became the first black woman to lead a publicly traded company publicly traded company A company whose shares of common stock are held by the public and are available for purchase by investors. The shares of publicly traded firms are bought and sold on the organized exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. when Radio One held an initial public offering that raised $172 million, making it the largest black-owned broadcasting corporation and the 16th largest media company in the U.S. Today, Radio One (No. 10 on the BE INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE 100 list with $364 million in sales) employs some 1,800 workers and broadcasts to more than 13 million listeners. Hughes, 58, chairs the Radio One board, serves as secretary of the corporation, and--together with her son--owns 71% of the company's voting-class stock. In January 2004, she entered into a joint venture with Comcast to launch TV One L.L.C. With a 40% ownership stake, Hughes is on a mission to one day produce television shows. BE recently caught up with her to talk business and politics and about her childhood dream of becoming a romance writer. You've ventured into cable TV. Tell us about the competition between IV One, BET, and Black Family Channel? We do not see IV One as a competitor to BET and certainly not the Black Family Channel, which really doesn't have any major clearance in any of the major metropolitan areas. The white media tries to pit us as a competitor to BET, but the truth is that TV One is a channel for mature adults. BET is in direct competition with VH1 and NTV NTV Nippon Television Network Corporation (Japan) nTV National Television NTV Nepal Television NTV Newfoundland Television NTV Non-Tactical Vehicle NTV Nerve Tissue Vaccine NTV Notice to Vacate . We're in competition with Lifetime and A&E. We would be a competitor of BET if we were going after their demo, which is 12- to 30-year-olds. Our target demo is an African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. 35 years or older. Radio One is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Looking back, what would you do differently? Have more children--absolutely. One of the things that makes Clear Channel such a powerhouse is that all of [Chairman] Lowry Nays' children work in the company. John Johnson John Johnson may refer to:
Are there any interesting trends in the way that Americans listen to radio? I think technology has changed the landscape significantly. You can now podcast. You can get music without commercials on the Internet. You have the option of satellite radio. Technology is awesome. You can watch a movie on your telephone. How does this new technology affect your business? I don't think any of it, including satellite radio, is any type of imminent threat Imminent threat is a standard criterion in international law, developed by Daniel Webster, for when the need for action is "instant, overwhelming, and leaving no choice of means, and no moment for deliberation. . It took the cable industry 30 years to start cutting into the budgets and revenues of network television. I think it's going to take 15 to 20 years before you start seeing podcasting and satellite and Internet radio Listening to audio broadcasts via the Internet. There are more than 4,000 broadcasts available on the Internet that can be streamed and played by a software media player in the computer or in a stand-alone Internet radio with the software built in. really having a financial impact. I think the last community to be impacted will be the African American community. Radio is so much a part of our culture. Black radio is to the African American community what black newspapers were to our ancestors Our Ancestors (Italian: I Nostri Antenati) is the name of Italo Calvino's "heraldic trilogy" that comprises The Cloven Viscount (1952), The Baron in the Trees (1957), and The Nonexistent Knight (1959). . Are you politically active? Yes. In fact, we just had a fundraiser for Harold Ford Jr., the congressman from Tennessee who is running for U.S. Senate. And it was attended by the only African American Lt. Gov. in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , Michael Steele Michael Steele may refer to
Do you support the war in Iraq? I think the war is terrible, and I think President Bush lied-outright lied. He is killing off innocent American lives as well as Iraqi lives, and I think it's just deplorable what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. . I'm ready to impeach To accuse; to charge a liability upon; to sue. To dispute, disparage, deny, or contradict; as in to impeach a judgment or decree, or impeach a witness; or as used in the rule that a jury cannot impeach its verdict. him on that issue alone. If you weren't working in broadcasting what would you be doing? Writing romance novels. I always wanted to be a writer. When I was growing up, there weren't Terry McMillans and Alice Walkers, or any of the great writers that we have today. In school, I always loved to read novels. I would always sit in school and daydream about writing black love stories. |
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