At the upcoming NAB Show New York this month, broadcasting archivist David Gleason will be honored with the inaugural Library of American Broadcasting Foundation’s Excellence in Broadcast Preservation Award.
Gleason will be presented with the award on Thursday, Oct. 26, immediately following the panel session “Your Content Is King: Preserve It!,” on which he will appear.
The LABF and NAB are co-hosting the panel to raise awareness of the importance of documenting and preserving broadcast history — an effort that Gleason has dedicated the past 20 years to.
During that time, Gleason has built a massive online archive of broadcasting and cable trade publications, books, music magazines, technical manuals, directories, yearbooks, company and station publications, programming guides and more. According to the LABF, the archive — www.worldradiohistory.com — now tops 9 million pages. Because it is online, the pages are readily available to the public and searchable.
“There is no stopping him,” said LABF Co-chairs Heidi Raphael and Jack Goodman in a press release. “What David has accomplished — virtually single-handedly — is extraordinary. He’s made an unparalleled contribution not only to the history of broadcasting, but to the story of the modern world as reflected and shaped by the media.”
Beginning as an intern at an AM-FM combo in Cleveland, Gleason has spent 64 years in ownership, management, sales, programming and engineering across 16 countries in Latin America and major U.S. markets. He owned a station group in Ecuador, worked in management positions and consulting in Puerto Rico for more than 25 years and has worked for or consulted to Univision, Emmis and Metromedia, among other owners in Latin America.
